Mau Mau from Within: An Analysis of Kenya’s Peasant Revolt [First Modem Reader Paperback Edition] 85345-135-4

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FROM WITHIN An Analysis of Kenya’s Peasant Revolt v

by Donald

&

L.

Karari

Barnett

Njama //?

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

mm

Karari

Njama photographed

at

Nyeri on June

6,

1955, on

day after his capture. Photo: Kenya Information Services.

DONALD

L.

BARNETT

AND

KARARI NJAMA

Mau Mau

from Within

AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND ANALYSIS OF KENYA’S PEASANT REVOLT

©

MODERN READER PAPERBACKS NEW YORK AND LONDON

This book is

dedicated to

who have

those

given their

the lengthy for

all

and

Kenyans lives in

just struggle

Land and Freedom

Copyright ©1966 by Donald L. Barnett All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-24519

Standard Book Number: SBN-85345-135-4 First

Modem

Reader Paperback Edition 1970

Monthly Review Press 62 West

14th Street,

47 Red Lion

MANUFACTURED

IN

New

Street,

York, N.Y. 10011

London

WC1R 4PF

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 9 8 7

6 5 4

3

CONTENTS PREFACE

Page

9

FOREWORD

1

Part

I:

Background

to

Revolt

1

AN INTRODUCTION

23

2

KARARI’S HILL

73

3

A squatter’s CHILD

8l

4

THE MIRACLE OF READING

88

5

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE

106

6

THE OATH OF UNITY

I 1

7

THRESHOLD OF REVOLT

1

25

8

NO ROOM

1

35

IN

THE MIDDLE

Part II

:

The

4

Fight in the Forest

nyandarua: the early months

149

10

KIGUMO CAMP

157

I I

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

1

69

12

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE

1

98

13

THE BREAK-UP OF KARIAINI H.Q.

21

14

THE MWATHE MEETING

225

15

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS

269

16

UNITY AND DIVISION

301

17

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

329

18

THE TIDE

375

19

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

426

20

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

455

9

IS

TURNING

I

GLOSSARY

493

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

5O5

INDEX

5°9

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2016

https://archive.org/details/maumaufromwithinOOdona

PREFACE All of us who

have affixed our names to the remarks that follow have in varying degrees been held responsible for the revolt popularized under the name of Mau Mau. British propaganda and not only British has been remarkably successful in equating the revolt of a large section of the people of Kenya with barbarism and savagery, so much so that even many Africans in Kenya are today reluctant to discuss this vitally important episode in our history with candour. This is all the more fantastic when one realizes that Kenya is today independent largely because of this revolt and the struggle of the men

—

—

and women who participated in it. During the last few years a spate aspect of African

life

Kenya has not been

on almost every has been poured out upon the world. of books

neglected in this flood. Naturally, the sub-

has engrossed writers most has been Mau Mau. But virtually none of these authors has attempted a serious analysis ject that

movement, of its causes, character, organization and achievements. There is an obsessive preoccupation in these works with the sinister and the awesome. The very name ‘Mau Mau’ is an illustration of how successful propaganda can damn an entire movement to which thousands sacrificed everything, including their lives, by attaching to it an appellation that conjures up all the cliches about the ‘dark continent’ which still crowd the European mind.

of this

Dr

Barnett’s study

is,

to our knowledge, the

first

attempt to

break out of this depressing mould and present this heroic episode in our history with skill, seriousness and sincerity.

Many who

participated in the

Kenya Land and Freedom Army

have disappeared from the political scene today. Their behaviour tends to be deliberately self-effacing and diffident. A good deal of this sense of guilt arises out of the years of ‘brain washing’ in

the ‘rehabilitation’

camps

where they were detained. Humiliation, concentrated, continuous and consistent, was a principal element in the ‘rehabilitation’ process. What is regrettable and even horrifying is that some African politicians and young ‘intellectuals’ should think that this is as of the colonial regime

9

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

10 it

should be. Frequently, their past and the movement they

created

is

condemned by people

of stature in the politics of the

country today. Late in 1952 and early 1953, the entire leadership of the Kenya African Union, the only African political party in the country,

was

arrested

and the party proscribed. The

arrests

were

not confined to the higher ranks only, but also included the

The

government and the European settlers hoped in this way to destroy the African nationalist movement completely. The men and women who went into the forests either to fight or to seek refuge from the terror spread throughout the countryside by Government forces were leaderless in the sense that all national and local leaders were behind bars, not to emerge until recently. They had to fend for themselves and create new cadres. As Dr Barnett shows they were almost all humble men and women who felt passionately about the cause they struggled for. They were the true heroes of the years middle

levels.

colonial

of forest fighting.

Kenya owes a

great debt of gratitude to them.

Anyone

familiar

with the political scene here in 1952 cannot fail to see the close and direct link between the political changes of recent times and the shock of the

Kenya Land and Freedom Army

revolt to the

government and the European setders. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the political consequences of their sacrifice have been felt throughout East Africa. A remarkable feature of the personnel of the Land and Freedom Army was the absence in the forest of educated men, educated, that is, in die formal sense beyond primary school level. It is clearly not enough to say that educated men in those days were few and far between and that most of them tended to be pro-government because they usually occupied government posts. The reasons go beyond that to the wide gulf that has arisen in many parts of Africa between the intellectuals and the masses. The symbols of the revolt, as Dr Barnett points out, were traditional symbols. The educated young man of today either does British

not understand these symbols at

all

taught to look down of life from which he has or

upon them. They represent a way become increasingly isolated. Essentially,

is

this

phenomenon

is

yet

another vicious heritage from colonialism. This is not said as a plea for a return to the old ways. Far from it. But we do have

PREFACE

I I

a society in which intellectuals are part of an organic whole and not merely ‘black Europeans’. Not only politics and to strive for

economics but also minds have to be decolonized. Our plea to break the conspiracy of silence about the Land and Freedom Army struggle includes also a plea for a more serious study of the history of Kenya since the Second World

War and more

particularly since 1952.

Dr

thanks of African nationalists for being the seriously studied this problem. as

it

is

in

itself,

We

Barnett deserves the first

hope that

person to have

his book, valuable

will also help to pierce that veil of reticence

which surrounds the Land and Freedom

Army and go some

way at least to secure to those who fought Nyandarua their due recognition as national

in the forests of the

heroes. B.

M. KAGGIA

FRED KUBAI J.

MURUMBI

ACHIENG ONEKO

.

FOREWORD I

t

was

first

March 1962 when I met Karari (son/of) Njania for the time. He had been recommended very highly by two of my

informants and one of the

Mohamed Mathu, and accompanied me

latter,

our meeting through the mails

arranged to Nyeri

was located seventeen miles off the main north-south highway and about 1 1 o miles north of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. It was situated atop a high ridge at an altitude of almost 7,000 feet. Across the pitted dirt road from the small, mud-and-wattle circular hut in which Karari, his wife, Nyaguthii, and their four children lived, I was confronted by a truly spectacular view. The green slopes of this and the opposite ridge, dotted here and there with small terraced gardens, descended sharply to the narrow Gura River Valley

District.

Karari’s village

over a thousand feet below. Here, slender strips of cultivated

land lined both sides of the clear, trout-laden

way through

Gura which

twisted

The

gardens, measuring an acre or less on the average, extended from the river’s edge to a point fifty or seventy-five yards back where the steep rise of the slope its

the valley.

made cultivation difficult and usually unprofitable. The Gura, often swollen and dangerous during the was now flowing with a gentle, quiet rumble well rocky banks.

A

long rains, within

its

mile or so to the northwest the river emerged

from the shadows of the vast Aberdare Range where it began as a trickle in the ii,ooo-foot moorland swamps, grew as it merged with other streams and tumbled down through the bamboo and ‘black’ forest belts and then spilled out into the valley. Miles away, in the Fort Hall District, the Gura joined the Sagana and eventually, as with most eastward-flowing rivers, emptied into the huge Tana River which deposited so much of Kenya’s rich highland soil and untapped energy into the Indian Ocean some 350 miles from Karari’s village. As I was taking in this panoramic scene, Karari returned home from the sub-location primary school where he was teaching. A stocky, sturdily built man in his mid-3o’s, wearing khaki shorts and an open-collared sports shirt, Karari appeared at first sight much taller than his actual height of five-foot nine. His 13

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

14

and manner as we shook hands and exchanged greetings was open and pleasant, lacking for the most part the uneasy restraint and suspicion I had frequently encountered in previous first meetings with Kikuyu. After Mathu’s introduction, we entered the dimly lit, smoke-filled hut to drink the tea which Nyaguthii had prepared. The wide-ranging discussion we engaged in the rest of that day and the next convinced me that Karari was an honest and very sincere human being and, moreover, one whose knowledge of Kenya’s Mau Mau revolution was, from personal experience, very considerable. He spoke unguardedly, though in general terms, of the name ‘Mau Mau’, of his role in the Movement and the two years he’d spent in the Aberdares as a guerrilla leader. Fortunately, the initial impression I formed of Karari was confirmed and reinforced over the course of the next six months. As we talked, I explained that I had already been in Kenya for nine months doing research of an anthropological nature on Mau Mau. Believing most of the writings on this subject to be one-sided interpretations from the point of view and perspective of the European settler and British Government, I had spent much of my time talking to Africans and collecting fifehistories from Kikuyu who, in varying mode and degree, had participated in the revolt. I indicated that I had already gathered seven such life-histories and tried to make clear that my interest in the revolution was two-fold first, I wanted to smile

:

data for the writing of my Ph.D. thesis in anand, second, I wanted to provide a medium

collect sufficient

thropology;*

through which African participants in the revolt could make

and interpretations known to the outside world. My intention, with regard to the latter aim, was to make this a joint enterprise in which all contributors would share in both the work and responsibility and, if there were any, the their

experiences

rewards.

Before

we

parted,

and indicating

the history of the revolution ever since his

camps

had wanted to record release from the deten-

that he

December 1958, Karari agreed

come

to Nairobi

the following month, during the school recess, where

we would

tion

*

The

in

dissertation

July 1963 under the

which resulted from title,

Mau Mau:

integration of Aberdare Guerrilla Force r.

to

this research was copyrighted in the Structural Integration and Dis-

FOREWORD tape his life-history.

The two weeks

15

how-

set aside for this task,

proved entirely inadequate. Karari, somewhat inhibited by the tape recorder, preferred to write his story in longhand. While offering the advantage of greater control, this process was obviously much slower and confronted both of us with certain problems. After much thought and discussion, it was decided that Karari would resign his teaching post and come to work for ever,

me it

as a research assistant while writing his autobiography.

turned out,

both of

this

was a very

fruitful

and rewarding decision

As for

us.

In mid-April, Karari

moved

in with

wife Carol and our four children

me and my

—and

months, living and working together,

family

—my

during the next

we each acquired a

six

con-

knowledge of the other’s strengths, habits and frailties. The understanding and friendship which grew out of this working relationship, set as it was against the background of two widely separated cultures, was for me one of the major rewards of my eighteen months of field work in Kenya. Again, without the degree of mutual trust and understanding we achieved, it is unlikely that the present work would ever have come to fruition. It might be mentioned here that while this book contains only the single, rather lengthy account of Karari Njama, another manuscript is in preparation which will embrace the shorter life-

siderable

histories of five other informants. Needless to say, the collective

contributions to the present

whom

work

of the several persons with

worked was great indeed. Without the materials contained in the life-histories of Priscilla Gathoni, Naomi Wanjiku Kenete, Bedan Miriti Kairo, Ngugi Solomon Kabiro, Kahinga Wachanga, John Mwangi, Karigo Muchai, Mohamed Mathu and, of course, Karari Njama, I would have been unable to I

grasp the overall nature of the revolution or prepare bution to this book.

my

contri-

Given the nature of my investigation the multiple-autobiography approach, though not without its own peculiar problems, proved invaluable. The available pertinent literature, though on the whole voluminous, dwindled and became less reliable as I approached in both space and time the conduct and organization of the guerrilla war in Nairobi, the Kikuyu reserv es and the forests of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares. My use of and reliance upon published materials, therefore, was

—

—

:,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

i6

removed from the revolution proper. Thus, my discussion of traditional Kikuyu society in Chapter One is based almost entirely on works such as Jomo Kenyatta’s Facing Amount Kenya, H. E. Lambert’s Kikuyu Social and Political Institutions, L. S. B. Leakey’s Mau Mau and the Kikuyu, and J. Middleton’s The Kikuyu and greatest in those areas of research furthest

Kamba

of

Kenya*

my

and economic processes set in motion in Kenya by colonization and European settlement rests to a considerable extent on the data contained in a wide ranging body of literature. Of particular value in this sphere were the works of S. and K. Aaronovitch, Crisis in Kenya, Again,

M.

interpretation of the political

Kenya Colony, S. Development of Agriculture and the Land System 79/8-/939, E. Huxley and M. Perham, Race and R. Dilley, British Policy

in

S.

in

Heyer,

Kenya

Politics in

Kenya, K. Ingram, History of East Africa, J. Kenyatta, Kenya The Land of Conflict, N. Leys, Kenya, M. Ross, Kenya from Within, and various Kenya and British Government publications.

With regard

underground movement and the general character of the revolution, the literature thins and becomes considerably less reliable. Though I have seriously studied works such as L. S. B. Leakey’s Defeating Mau Mau F. D. Corfield’s Historical Survey of the Origins and Growth of Mau Mau, and P. Evan’s Law and Disorder: Scenes of Life in Kenya, my analysis rests to a very large extent on the data I was able to gather from Kikuyu and other informants between June of 1961 and December of 1962. In the area of my primary concern, the structure and organization of guerrilla forces, reliance upon published material was reduced practically to nil. While the local newspapers, Government documents and books were useful in checking and confirming key dates and events, available literature dealing with the revolution proper was, on the whole, meagre and of poor quality. Written by men who had served with the Government security forces, or based upon the writings of the latter, works to the

,

such as

W.

* In

Baldwin’s

Mau Mau

Manhunt, Ian Henderson’s

the Bibliography presented at the end of the book, those works which I found particularly useful in preparing my own analysis are marked

by an

asterisk.

FOREWORD The Hunt

Kimathi

17

Gangs and Countergangs, and F. Majdalany’s State of Emergency are the African equivalent of most American “Cowboy and Indian” sagas. Quite naturally, these works reflected the partiality of their writers and revealed little if any effort at objective understanding. Unfortunately, even those whose training and knowledge should have for

,

F. Kitson’s

,

dictated otherwise, such as L. S. B. Leakey, in Defeating

Mau

Mau

tended to present a one-sided and distorted view of reality that of the noble white man who, fervently engaged in bringing civilization, Christianity, education and the “good life” to Kenya’s backward natives, was suddenly forced to defend self and property, law and order, peace and morality, against the treacherous attack of atavistic savages gone mad with a ,

—

This literature undeniably reflected the mood and perspective of most Kenya Europeans. That it failed to reflect the outlook of the vast majority of Kenya Africans, or render an adequate and balanced account of the revolution in question, is blood-lust.

equally undeniable.

Faced, then, with the task of obtaining most of

my

primary

data from Africans with first-hand knowledge, and having to confront

white

the

generalized

man which

of colonial rule, I

fear,

distrust

and suspicion of the

Kikuyu had acquired during had to rely quite heavily on the

the

sixty years life-history

approach. Here, working with a relatively small number of persons over fairly extended periods of time, rapport and confidence

had a chance to develop. From a became an individual with specific and motives. In the last analysis, the life-history material was due largely and willingness to accept me as an assess lives

my

interests in the revolution

generalized ‘European’

human success to

my

qualities, I

had

interests

in gathering

informants’ ability

and accurately

individual

and

I

in their

own

personal

and problems.

The multiple-autobiography approach

extremely useful, built-in corroborative device. of events

and

situations

contained

itself

had been participated

A

in

an

number by two or more large

my

informants and, though each account might reveal a given incident from a slightly different perspective, each acted of

as a check

upon

the authenticity of the others.

to abstract a considerable

amount

I

was thus able

of mutually confirmed data

8

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

1

and the shared valuations thereof. Where conflicts in the data occurred, I was usually able to resolve the issues through further discussions or interviews with other informants.

One

which greatly

factor

facilitated

the

success

of

this

approach was the essentially small-scale nature of Kikuyu society. Given the relatively high degree of mobility found among

Kikuyu of the Central Province, Rift Valley and Nairobi, news and information normally spread with unbelievable rapidity. Largely by word of mouth, news could often be transmitted great distances in the space of a few hours through the informal networks of dispersed kin and neighbourhood relations. During the revolution, the paths of countless the million or so

thousands crossed one another under a variety of circumstances in the city, reserve, forests and detention camps. Virtually every Kikuyu acquired, either indirectly or through personal observation, a considerable and frequently detailed knowledge of a

Under such circumstances, an error, omission, fabrication or untruth on the part of an informant could not long remain undiscovered by the persistent

large

number

researcher.

of persons

One

of

my

and

events.

informants, for example, failed to disclose

a Government informer during his internment at a certain detention camp. This fact, however, was soon made known to me by another informant and then confirmed that he

had served

as

by two others who had likewise spent time in this camp. Two additional factors which enhanced the value and utility of the multiple-autobiography approach might also be mentioned. Several persons who have consented to read the lifehistories I gathered have marvelled, often to the point of disbelief,

at the incredible ability of

detail events

my

informants to recall in

which transpired ten or more years

who

has spent time in the

in the past.

To

comes as no surprise. In the absence of a writing system the Kikuyu, as with other African peoples, were traditionally dependent upon oral history, often reinforced in song, proverb and verse, in their efforts to preserve and transmit to future generations important happenings and events. The transference of this knowledge was an extremely important aspect of the upbringing and the Africanist

field this feat

socialization of children. Historic events of significance, along

with a wide variety of other information which could not be stored in books for future reference, simply had to be remem-

FOREWORD bered or stored in the all

human mind

if it

ig were not to be

lost for

time.

The Kikuyu, rule

therefore, even after several decades of British

and exposure

to

powers of recollection

book learning, has normally developed or remembrance which might be con-

sidered exceptional in societies long

endowed with a

written

should hasten to add that even in the African context, Karari Njama’s recall of detail is something of an exception and,

script. I

though approached, was not equalled or excelled by any of

my

other informants.

Related to the above

is

some by him

the fact that events considered of

importance to an individual will usually be reiterated time and time again in his dealings with other people. Upon meeting friends, relatives or neighbours Kikuyu customarily bring one another up to date on all significant happenings in their lives since they last met. This practice, which you are

bound

would obviously act the remembrance of detail.

to notice in Karari’s account,

reinforce through repetition

to

Regarding the credibility of the data contained in Karari’s life-history, a few words are in order. As for all major events and their sequence, Karari’s account is corroborated not only by the accounts of my other informants, at all points where they intersect, but by newspaper accounts, Government documents and interview material. Obviously, it has not been possible to substantiate more than a few of the minor events and details of Karari’s story. I can only point out that in areas where my data converge on questions of detail, the descriptions rendered by Karari have proven accurate. While I found the internal consistency of such a detailed account as Karari Njama’s very convincing, I feel the reader will be able to reach his own conclusion in this regard.

Needless to say, ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of Karari Njama’s account lies with Mr. Njama himself, just as I must accept full responsibility for whatever inadequacies or

might be found in the remainder of this book. I have endeavoured to present Karari Njama’s life-history, up to the time of his capture on June 5, 1955, in such a manner as to preserve its full documentary value. It is reproduced here in its errors

entirety exactly as originally written with the following exceptions.

Where

it

was

felt

absolutely necessary to preserve intended

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

20

meanings or to make clear an ambiguous statement,

I

have

by the use of brackets. Minor alterations in spelling and punctuation have not been noted. My aim has been to make as few changes as possible and grammatical errors, where they were not felt to impair communication, were left as written. Finally, the breakdown of the lif e-history into chapters, and the titles of the latter, are my doing rather than Karari’s. It is sincerely hoped that the combination of objective, if not detached, analysis and commentary together with the personal

made

insertions noted

account of a fully involved partisan will provide the reader with both an increased understanding of the background, emergence and nature of Kenya’s Mau Mau Revolution and, through a vicarious participation, some deeper insights into the hopes,

and expectations of a people whose actions and outlook on life have been shaped in large measure by the double-edged sword of tradition and colonial rule.

fears,

frustrations

August 1964

DONALD

L.

BARNETT

PART

Background

I

to

Revolt

CHAPTER

I

AN INTRODUCTION The

occurred in

we

be concerned in this book the Kenya Colony and Protectorate between the

revolution with which

shall

and 1957. With Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, Kenya comprised a portion of what was known as British East Africa. In the twilight of the colonial period, on 12 December

years 1952

1963, this colony achieved of British rule.

While

it

is

its

independence after sixty-odd years

beyond the scope

of the present

work

do intend touch upon the major conditions and processes which

to deal comprehensively with this historic period, I

here to

underlay the revolt

in question.

To

ground against which ‘Mau Mau’

provide, so to speak, a back-

may

be more closely and,

it

hoped, objectively understood. Let us consider, in broad stroke, the context within which ‘Mau Mau’ arose. Kenya covers an area of about 245,060 square

is

bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the north-east and north by the Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia, on the west by Uganda and on the south by Tanganyika. Of this miles

and

territory,

is

approximately three-fifths

is

poorly watered semi-desert

occupied by pastoral peoples such as the Somali, Turkana, Samburu, Boran, Masai and Kalenjin tribes. Roughly, these semi-

Northern Frontier Province, in the south toward the Tanganyika border and in the east between the highlands and the coastal strip. The remainder of the country, in the central and western regions, includes the Great Rift Valley with its Lakes Naivasha, Nakuru and Rudolph, the mountain plateau to the east ranging from 3,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level and including the twin peaked Aberdare Range and snow-capped Mount Kenya, and the Kenya portion desert areas are located in the vast former

of the

The

Lake Victoria Basin

to the west.

peoples occupying these latter regions comprise the bulk

and its six major ‘tribes’ the Luo and Baluhya in the west, the Kikuyu and closely related Embu and Mem in the east, the Kamba south and east of the Kikuyu, the of Kenya’s population

:

23

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

24

‘Europeans’ in the central Rift Valley region and the ‘Asians’ in

Nairobi and the other towns. This region being relatively wellwatered, most of

its

with the keeping of

rural peoples practise agriculture

cattle,

combined

sheep and goats.

According to the East African Census of

1948 the total African population of Kenya numbered better than five and a quarter million with the Kikuyu tribes comprising 30 per cent, the Luo 14 per cent, Baluhya 13 per cent and Kamba 12 per cent. In addition there were almost 30,000 Europeans and an Asian population (Indian, Arab and Goan) of over 120,000. Apart from the 9,000 European settlers of the ‘White Highlands’, the bulk of the non- African population lived in the administrative and commercial capital of Nairobi some 300 miles inland from the coast and surrounded on three sides by

—

the

Kikuyu

district of

Kiambu,

the ancient port city of

Mom-

basa, or in one or another of the smaller towns of the Rift

Valley Province.

Very

generally, the three ‘racial’ aggregates occupied distinc-

Kenya’s caste-class spectrum. The European community, though comprising less than 1 per cent of the total tive positions within

population, constituted a kind of ‘high caste’, reminiscent of

long defunct

European

aristocracies,

privileged position in both the political

colony. Internally segmented into a

and occupied a highly and economic life of the

number

of business, farm-

and recreational groups, often with conflicting interests, the European community nevertheless constituted Kenya’s most unified and integrated population segment. Cross-linked through a wide variety of associations whose memberships overlapped, and fully conscious of their common interests vis-a-vis both African and Asian groups, Europeans tended to react as a single body in the face of any ing, civil servant, mission, professional

external

threat

to

their

continued existence

as

a privileged

minority.

Though

ultimate policy and decision-making powers regarding the colony rested with the British Parliament, acting through

Minister of State for the Colonies, Colonial Office and resident Governor, the European minority in Kenya exercised a its

virtual

monopoly

of

power

in the local

governing

institutions.

1948 the Kenya Legislative Council was comprised of one Arab, five Indian and eleven European elected members,

Thus

in

AN INTRODUCTION

25

along with one Arab and four African members appointed by the Governor plus sixteen official members, also European.

Within the European community, the well-organized minority of settler farmers and planters constituted a solid block. Acting through organizations such as the Convention of Associations and Kenya National Farmers Union they in large measure determined and articulated the over-all aims and policies of the white population. Despite the early and repeated formal British Government pronouncements regarding the ‘paramountcy of African interests’ where these clashed with those of the immigrant communities, the settlers had been successful in acquiring exclusive rights to the vast ‘White Highlands’ and in perpetuating discriminatory policies in the fields of education, wages, housing, cash crop cultivation, marketing and public services.

The

color-bar and subtle apartheid policies, in

ing aspects,

all their

degrad-

bore a great and not accidental resemblance to

South African practice.

Aware

of the limited nature of their powers vis-a-vis the British

European community and particularly the settler minority aspired to a form of self government which would both free them from British rule and interference and Parliament,

entrench

the

their

powers

in

a

Kenya

constitution

continued European political dominance. line of political action lay in

guaranteeing

The models

for this

Southern Rhodesia and the Union

of South Africa. #

The Asian segment and

of Kenya’s population occupied a middle

many ways

ambivalent position in the hierarchy of color, class and caste. Denied the right to own or lease land in the European Settled Areas and lacking the Native Land Unit of the African, the Asian was of necessity a town dweller. Outnumbering the Europeans four to one, the Asians on the whole constituted an urban middle class of traders, merchants, white collar in

workers, professionals and skilled laborers. It should be added,

however, that while the Europeans were concentrated at the top of the economic pyramid and the Africans at the bottom, the Asians tended to be more staggered from top to bottom.

With the predominantly lower

class

and

illiterate

Arabs con-

centrated at the coast, the vast majority, or almost 100,000 of

Kenya’s socially defined ‘Asians’ were of Indian origin and

26

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

segmented primarily along MusLim-Hindu

lines into

a number

and caste groupings. Among Hindus the caste system was strong and marriage across caste lines extremely rare. The primary division amongst non-Muslims was between the Gujarati segment, predominant in the commercial field, and the Punjabis, both Sikh and non-Sikh, who comprised a significant proportion of the Indian professionals and skilled workers. The dominant force among the Muslims, divided internally into a number of sects, was the Ismaili community, a Khoja sect following the Aga Khan. In addition, there were the Catholic Goans, largely white collar workers, and a scattering of Scindis, of religious sect

Bengalis, Parsis, Madrassis,

Bombay

Maharastrians,

etc.

Unlike the European community, where racial identification provided a strong integratory force, the Asians of Kenya identified themselves less as Indians than as members of particular religious sects and castes. Unity, to the degree that it was achieved across these religious cleavages, was the result primarily of the lengthy struggle, which reached its height in the early 1920’s, waged by the Indians for equality of citizenship with the dominant Europeans. Despite the political and commercial rivalry between ‘brown’ and white, however, the interests of both

were in many ways closely bound up in the existing system. Indian merchants and traders, as well as white collar workers, feared the emergence of a black middle class and felt threatened, perhaps as much as the European community, by the increasing tempo of African nationalist demands. In their attacks on European supremacy and the felt resentment at being treated as second class citizens, Asians tended to share a common body of interests with the Africans on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder. Their fear of African predominance, however, tended to foster the conviction that their interests might be better served if the status quo in black-white relations was left undisturbed. Hence the ambivalence in the position of the Asian community. Kenya’s African population, numbering an estimated 5,561,000 in 1952, was clearly at the bottom of the colony’s socioeconomic hierarchy. The vast majority were peasants living in the overcrowded and steadily deteriorating Native Land Units ‘reserved’ for them and engaged largely in subsistence patterns of agricul-

AN INTRODUCTION

27

Another large segment of the African ‘lower class’ was comprised of unskilled and largely migrant laborers employed primarily on the European farms and plantations of the Highlands or in the urban centers of Nairobi and Mombasa. About a fourth of the entire African adult male population was engaged in some form of wage employment. Of this number, just under 50 per cent were engaged in agriculture, 20 per cent in Government service, 1 1 per cent in manufacturing and 1 1 per cent in domestic employment. The great mass of African labor was unskilled and the wage level, in both absolute and relative terms, was extremely low. In 1948, for example, a total of 385,000 African workers earned the equivalent of 28 million dollars— an average of $73 per worker per year, which included estimated food and housing allowances. Asian workers numbering 23,500 earned 17.4 million dollars an average of $741 per worker per year. And European wage earners numbering 1 1 ,500 garnered a total wage of 20 million dollars an average of $1,739 per worker per year. These statistics, of course, reveal in only the most abstract way ture.

—

—

among African workers in the Though conditions have changed

the degree of destitution extant years

prior

slightly,

to

the

revolt.

and not always

African slum locations such as present a

much more

walk through one of the Kariokor or Pumwani, would

for the better, a

accurate picture of African poverty. It

would include the thousands of Africans, not figured in the above statistics, .who drift into the city as landless and unemployed peasants in search of work and sleep twelve or sixteen to a room to avoid the cold Nairobi nights. It would include the squalor and degradation which fail to seep through the lifeless tables of figures.

In addition to the peasant and worker, there was also a small but growing number of African petty traders and hawkers and

an emergent white

collar class of low-salaried clerks, insurance

Competition in both of these areas between Africans and their entrenched Asian counterparts tended to sharpen the animosity and conflict between the two groups. Not infrequently, Africans expressed more bitterness and resentment toward Asians than toward the dominant Europeans. The latter were on the whole further removed from direct economic competition and interaction with

salesmen, teachers, medical assistants,

etc.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

28

Africans than were the Asian shop keepers, traders, semi-skilled laborers

and white

collar workers.

was segmented primarily along tribal lines. Rural areas outside the European domain were demarcated and administered by Government largely a5 tribal Internally, the African population

units and, with the perpetuation of traditional tenure systems,

African peasant and pastoral aggregates tended to persist as tribal ly

homogeneous

isolates.

Travel and trade restrictions func-

tioned to further reduce and inhibit inter-tribal rural contact.

With the pastoral economy and highly

tribes

remaining largely outside the cash

resistant to acculturative processes,

was which

it

predominantly the agricultural tribes mentioned earlier entered the urban milieu where the pattern of tribal isolation was, during the post-war period, beginning to give way to broader groupings of an African national character. Thus in Nairobi, while the majority of associations continued to be based

on

tribal, sub-tribe

or clan affiliation

(e.g.,

the

Abaluhya Asso-

Thukus Brotherhood Fund, Kitui Friendly Society, etc.), a growing number of Africans were entering economic, political and other associations where tribal identification was over-ridden by racial, occupational and residential criteria (e.g., the Domestic and Hotel Workers’ Union, Starehe African Social Club, Kenya African Union, Labour Trade Union of East Africa, etc.). Organizers and leaders of the latter associations were by and large drawn from the small but significant segment of educated Africans. Frustrated by the severe limitations imposed upon African upward mobility in the political and economic spheres, these men tended to oppose tribal exclusiveness as an obstacle ciation,

to general African

advancement.

While education thus

facilitated the

breakdown

of vertical or

tended also to foster the emergence of a new horizontal cleavage between the educated and the illiterate. And with education largely in the hands of the missions, this cleavage coincided with that between Christian and pagan. For most Africans with an education beyond primary school level the European community functioned as a reference group possessing various attributes of Western civilization which the educated African both aspired to and, at least in part, judged himself in tribal barriers,

it

,

terms

of.

More

often than not,

European achievement

acknowledged superiority of

in the areas of

formal education, science

AN INTRODUCTION

29

and technology, material wealth and military power were projected into other cultural spheres. Thus,

many

aspects of African

and practice were seen by the educated as or ‘backward’ when compared to their ‘advanced’

traditional belief ‘inferior’

European counterparts.

The

illiterate

peasant and worker, on the other hand, being

closer to traditional customs, religion

and law, was

inclined to

view with some suspicion and disdain the efforts of his educated brethren to become Black Europeans. And this distrust was reinforced by the fact that a good number of educated Africans were salaried officials or employees of the white man’s Govern-

ment and,

headmen and chiefs, often found themselves supporting unpopular Government programs. especially in the case of

This cleavage, while significant, must not be thought of as complete or unambiguous. As we have seen, it was from amongst the educated that an elite of African nationalist leaders emerged to articulate the grievances of the illiterate peasants

The

and

laborers.

normally held these leaders in great respect, sometimes bordering on reverence. Again, the illiterate prized education very highly for their children and often made great sacrifices to put a son or daughter through school. The educated, on the other hand, despite their adoption of many Western ways, retained many and frequently strong ties with kinsmen and neighbors within the peasant community. The color-bar and latter, in turn,

European discriminatory

policies

made

shed their identity as Africans or sever illiterate

it

impossible for them to

all

connections with the

masses.

Looked

at broadly, then, the various rural African aggregates

were formally integrated within Kenya society by a Britishimposed hierarchy of governing institutions and enforcement agencies over which they had no control and little influence. The European minority, on the other hand, through its outright control or influence over these institutions, its

position of

dominance

the Asians of the center.

implement

was able

to sustain

both the African majority and powerful settler group could thus

vis-a-vis

The

policies relating to land, labor, taxation, education,

which, though advantageous with respect to its own calculated interests, often ran counter to those of the subordinate African and Asian groups. To sustain this inequitable and unetc.,

balanced relationship, the dominant European

class

was

fre-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

30

quently obliged to compensate for its lack of popular support and numbers by the same use or threat of force and coercion required initially for the establishment of white rule at the turn of the century.

While Kenya’s Africans were divided along faced with the

new

tribal lines

and

divisive tendencies indicated above, there

were nonetheless strong counterforces operating African population. Regardless of

tribe, all

to

unify the

Africans were classed

by the dominant whites and subject as a single people to the discriminatory and degrading policies and practices of the European elite. Thus classified and treated as one there was mounting pressure within the black community to submerge or play down tribal and other differences in the face of a common enemy the oppressive and dominant white settler minority. The major conflict and cleavage between black and white, becoming increasingly intense and deep, operated to mitigate internal differences and foster a growing awareness of the need as

‘Natives’

,

—

for African unity.

In the urban milieu of Nairobi, African groupings were emerging which sought to integrate the various tribal segments of the population under institutions of their

own making and

through which they could protest and contest the privileged position of the immigrant minorities. As the urban African population was comprised largely of migrant workers with one foot in the city and the other in their respective rural areas, the multitribal

associations of the city,

and

especially the fast-growing

African nationalist and trade union movements, tended to crosslink the many rural peasant aggregates. Where, in short, Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba, Baluhya, Giriama, etc., were joined as members of

an urban

association,

the rural tribal groups with which

individuals maintained

were thereby indirectly linked to one another. Inter-tribal suspicion and hostility were therefore reduced to the extent that these multitribal groups were these

successful

in

contact

pointing out the vital interests

common

to

all

Africans and in working for the peaceful and friendly resolution of those conflicts which emerged.

This process of African integration outside the existing hierarchy of governing institutions was still in its early stages during the post-war years prior to the revolt. Due to a wide variety of factors, including the

degree and basis of rural discontent, the

AN INTRODUCTION

31

and variations consciousness and internal inte-

extent of involvement in urbanization processes in the general level of political

gration, the various tribal or rural aggregates

were

The

involved in the process of African unification. tribes

and,

differentially

pastoral

remained by and large outside this integratory process amongst the agriculturists, it was unquestionably the

Kikuyu who played the central and leading role, followed some distance by the Luo, Kamba, Baluhya and Teita.

Since the Kikuyu hold center stage in this book, useful

to

consider

some

of

the factors which

it

at

should prove

underlay their

both the African nationalist movement and peasant revolution of Kenya. Let us look first at some of the processes set in motion by the establishment of a settled European agricultural population; then at certain features and patterns revealed in the emergence and development of African associations which sought to articulate and gain a redress of peasant

primary role

in

and lastly at certain features of the traditional which helped shape Kikuyu responses to imposed colonial

grievances; society

institutions.

The advent

1902-7 was to prove a determining factor in the development of Kenya’s peasant economies. As a rule, the largely self-sufficient subsistence economies of Africa’s indigenous agricultural tribes were brought into the exchange economy of the various colonizing powers either through the cultivation and sale of cash crops, such as coffee, cocoa, cotton and peanuts, or through the export of labor in the form of migrant wage and contract workers. It was not a matter of chance, however, which determined the particular line of development a given peasantry would pursue. Labor-exporting peasantries have thus emerged with great regularity in areas of significant European settlement, where the settler demand for land was inextricably linked with his need for cheap African labor to work it and resulted in the alienation of tribal territories, various forms of compulsory labor and taxation, and restrictions on competitive African cultivation of cash crops. Thus in Kenya, as in other territories of east, central and south Africa, African land was appropriated for the exclusive use of of

European settlement

in the years

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

32

That a good deal more land was alienated than could be put to effective use by the settlers is explained in large measure by the latters’ need for African labor. Lord Delamere, a leading settler spokesman, made this clear in his appeal to the Labour Commission of 1912. In order to force Africans into the centers of European enterprise, this renowned settler leader urged that the land reserved for ‘natives’ be cut so as to prevent them from having enough for a selfimmigrant white

colonists.

supporting level of production. How, he pleaded, could Africans be obliged to labor for Europeans if they had enough land to successfully breed livestock

and

cultivate crops for sale. This plea

By 1934 some 6,543,360

did not go unheeded.

acres of land

had

been alienated for occupation by 2,027 setders; an average of 2,534 acres per occupant, of which only 274 acres were actually under cultivation. As late as 1940 there remained over one million acres within the White Highlands which lay unused for either crops or pasture.

By 1952, some 9,000

settlers

held exclu-

square miles of land, including 4,000 square miles of Forest Reserve, while several million Africans sought to sive rights to 16,700

eke out a livelihood within their increasingly congested reserves. Less than 0.7 per cent of the entire Kenya population, a figure which includes all Europeans, held what has been estimated to

be a minimum of 20 per cent of the colony’s best land. Taxation, and its counterpart, low wages, were also employed to stimulate the flow of cheap African labor out of the reserves. Delamere urged quite simply that taxation be used as a means of forcing Africans to work for wages. In 1913, an editorial in the settler newspaper set forward some of the thinking and rational calculations which lay behind Kenya’s tax and wages policies.

We

consider that taxation

is

the only possible

method

of

compelling the native to leave his reserve for the purpose of seeking work. Only in this way can the cost of living be increased for the native

.

.

.

[and] ...

it is

on

this that the

supply of labour

and the price of labour depend. To raise the rate of wages would not increase but would diminish the supply of labour. A rise in the rate of wages would enable the hut and poll tax of a family, sub-tribe or tribe to be earned by fewer external workers 1 .

1

East African Standard 4 February 1913. ,

AN INTRODUCTION When

one adds to the European land, tax and wages

the restrictions placed

upon African

33 policies,

cultivation of certain profit-

and the kipande or labor system which obliged Africans, on pain of imprison-

able cash crops, such as Arabica coffee, registration

ment, to obtain the signatures of their employers when they wished to seek other work or return to the reserves, it is not difficult to understand the emergence in Kenya of land hungry, labor-exporting African peasantries. The Kikuyu figured prominently in this process. Of the several large agricultural tribes in Kenya, it is unquestionably the Kikuyu who were affected most immediately and deeply by European settlement. As Kenya’s largest tribe, occupying the rich highland regions to the east and south of the Aberdare Range, the Kikuyu provided considerable portions of the land

and most of the labor upon which the European farming economy was based. While most of the White Highlands was obtained by the British from the pastoral Masai, large sections of Kikuyuland, particularly in the rich southern district of Kiambu, were alienated for European use. This land having been densely populated, its alienation left a large number of Kikuyu families landless and homeless. In addition, vast stretches of forest land bordering the region were made part of the Forest Reserve and removed from Kikuyu use. Between 1907 and 193b the sporadic nibbling away of small pieces of Kikuyu land particularly in the Mweiga area of North Nyeri and around Nairobi combined with the 1915 Crown Lands Ordinance, which made all Africans ‘tenants at the will of the Crown’, and the refusal of the Kenya Government to issue title deeds to Africans, fostered among the Kikuyu a growing insecurity of tenure and distrust of the white man’s motives and intentions. In addition, a rapidly expanding population, reaching an average density of 283 per square mile by 1934 in the Kikuyu districts of Kiambu, Fort Hall and Nyeri (and rising to well over 500 in some areas such as South Nyeri), led to the increased fragmentation of holdings and spread of soil erosion. Land, previously allowed a period of fallow to regain its fertility, now had to be under continuous cultivation. The result, given no significant change in agricultural practice or technology, was a low and decreasing level of peasant produc-

—

—

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

34

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that a steadily rising number of landless and land hungry Kikuyu were forced to leave the reserve and seek employment in the centers of European agriculture and commerce. By 1948 over a quarter of the Kikuyu population, some 273,000 persons out of a total of 1,026,000, were living and working outside the confines of their insufficient reserve. Of these, about four-fifths (2 8,000) were engaged as wage and contract laborers or ‘squatters’ on the European plantations and tivity.

1

mixed farms of the White Highlands, while most of the remainder had entered the urban centers of Nairobi (51,475) and

A

Mombassa

‘squatter’, in return (3,304) as unskilled laborers. for a nominal wage of eight to ten shillings per 30-day ‘work

and the right to pasture a few animals and cultivate a small garden, was usually bound under a three year contract to work 270 days a year for the owner. All unemployed male members of his family aged sixteen or over were equally bound and women and children were obliged to work when called upon. The workers’ freedom of movement was greatly impeded by the fact that written permission from the manager or owner was ticket’

normally required

one wished to leave the area to visit friends or relatives, pay his poll tax or simply spend a night in the town. A significant proportion of these external workers were peasants whose families had previously lost land through alienation to European farmers. In some cases, laborers were employed on land held by Europeans which would, under other circumstances, have been theirs through inheritance. ‘Alienation’, then, is a very appropriate term, for it contains the double meaning or connotation of transference of ownership and losing something which nevertheless remains in existence over-against one. It is if

not only the brute fact of landlessness, land hunger and insecurity of tenure which conditioned Kikuyu involvement in the nationalist

movement and peasant

for a people

who

revolt;

attach such sacred

it is

also the fact that

meaning

to the land the

areas alienated remained within (heir field of experience, unattainable yet in considerable measure unused by its new

owners.

Two

additional processes, set in motion by European settlement, also help to explain the emergence and development of political consciousness

and organization among the Kikuyu and,

AN INTRODUCTION to

a

Kenya’s other agricultural

lesser extent,

largely to restrictions placed

on the

35 tribes.

dearth

of

economic

peasantries such as the

homogeneous

characteristic

stratification

opportunities,

Kikuyu tended

aggregates.

Lacking of

due

cultivation of cash crops, the

retention of traditional systems of land tenure

and the

First,

and

cultivation,

labor-exporting

to develop as relatively

economic

the

cash-cropping

and

social

peasantries,

the

Kikuyu were inadvertently provided with a broad base of common interests and life circumstances. It is here suggested that this ‘levelling’ effect of European settlement, i.e., the creation of a relatively uniform and impoverished peasant mass, when coupled with the intensifying struggle for scarce

and

economically

politically

fertile

dominant

land against the

white

settler

greatly increased the likelihood of unified political action

elite,

among

the Kikuyu.

Secondly, the system of migrant labor set in motion by white

may have impeded

development of certain kinds of cross-linking groups, such as rural credit and marketing co-operatives, threw a large number of peasants into an urban milieu where they often joined men of other districts and tribes in the formation of trade unions, political associations and other urban groups. In Kenya, as elsewhere, such associations tended to cross-link various tribes and local communities, fostering new loyalties to larger groupings and an African national element of consciousness. With regard to the Kikuyu, as the major labor-exporting tribe, these urban associations also settlement,

while

it

the

served to cross-link the numerous previously disparate local com-

new sense who had managed to

munities and wider territorial units and hence foster a of

Kikuyu

identity

and

unity.

For those

acquire a formal education, these associations also provided an

opportunity for the emergence of an political

and

elite

body

of trade union,

religious leaders.

any revolution requires a certain minimum amount of organization, so does a people in revolt require an ideology. Without a set of ideas and ideals, few people are willing to risk their lives in revolutionary action. In Kenya, at any rate, it is unlikely that the revolution would have occurred but for the

Just as

integrative ideology developed over a period of thirty-odd years

by numerous

political,

religious,

educational and trade union

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

36

which articulated and brought in focus various African grievances and set forward certain political, economic and social objectives. It is not surprising that the Kikuyu played associations

a leading role in this process. In 1920 the Kikuyu Association was formed.

Comprised largely of chiefs and headmen, it focused major attention on grievances concerning the alienation of Kikuyu land and Government’s increasingly compulsive labor policies. A second group, known as the Young Kikuyu Association (YKA), emerged in June 1921. Headed by Harry Thuku, a Government telephone

and comprised mainly

low grade clerks, office boys and domestic servants, the YKA protested through mass meetings and petitions against (1) the Crown Lands Ordinance of 1915, (2) continued evictions of Kikuyu sub-clans and alienation of their land for European occupation, (3) the doubling of the Hut and Poll Tax from five to ten rupees, (4) the one-third reduction in African wages imposed in 1921, and (5) the kipande or labor registration system introduced in 1920, according to which all African males aged sixteen or over were fingerprinted and made to carry, on penalty of imprisonment, a combined identification and employment card. During the ensuing months, the YKA gained considerable support and influence in both the city and rural Kikuyu areas. Thuku also addressed an audience of Kavirondo (Baluhya) in North Nyanza and the first signs of multi-tribal solidarity appeared with the formation of the Young Kavirondo Association. In 1922 the East African Association (EE A) whose informal origin may date back as early as 1919 was organized under the leadership of Harry Thuku. Though made up in the main of Kikuyu, the EEA aimed at uniting all Kenya tribes around the more general African grievances. A speech by Thuku to a Kikuyu audience in February 1922, in which he accused the

operator,

of

—

Government

of stealing

for preaching the

word

Kikuyu

—

land, attacked the missionaries

of the devil, expressed his

hope that the

Europeans would leave Kikuyuland, and urged the people to refuse to work for Europeans, was soon followed by an EEA call for all Africans to throw their kipandes away on the lawn of

Government blouse

in Nairobi.

Fearing the anti-European, anti-missionary and embryonic nationalist aims of the EEA, Government arrested Thuku on

AN INTRODUCTION 15

March 1922 and

being ‘dangerous to

him for deportation on charges of peace and good order’. Almost immediately, held

and quite spontaneously, there occurred the

Kenya

37

first

general strike

thousand Africans, largely Kikuyu, gathered in protest outside the Nairobi jail where Thuku was in

history. Several

being held and frightened

demanded

and

tense,

the release of their leader.

perhaps,

by

this

African strength, responded to a shot fired

The

police,

unexpected show of by one of their mem-

on the crowd. When the shooting had stopped, twenty-one Africans lay dead on the street and a much larger number were injured. Shortly thereafter, Thuku and two of his relatives were deported to Kismayu without trial and the EE A was banned. In August 1923 a public meeting was held in Nairobi at which the speakers called for the release of Thuku and a change in the status of Kenya from Colony to British Protectorate. They also protested against Government and missionary interference in traditional marriage practices and demanded that the views and opinions of Africans be heard and seriously considered before Government undertook to modify or eliminate any tribal bers

by opening

fire

customs.

The

following year, 1924, saw the formation of the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), a group organized and made up

banned EE A. For the next sixteen years the KCA agitated and pressed for reform through mass meetings, petitions and delegations to the British Parliament. They began publication of a vernacular newspaper, Mwiguithania (The Unifier ), in 1928 and helped in the establishment of sister organizations among the Baluhya (Kavirondo Taxpayers’ largely of

members

of the

Welfare Association), Wakamba (Ukamba Members Association) and Wateita (Teita Hills Association). They demanded,

among

other things, (1) title deeds to land held by Africans in the reserves, (2) the return of alienated land, or just compensa-

removal of restrictions on the planting by Africans of commercial crops such as Arabica coffee, (4) the training and employment of Africans as agricultural instructors, (5) compulsory primary education for African children, sufficient secondary and high schools, and opportunities for higher education for Africans overseas, (6) abolition of the kipande system, exemption of women from Hut and Poll Taxes, and removal of other tion, (3)

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

38

measures which restricted freedom of movement or compelled Africans to leave their shambas (gardens) to work for Europeans,

and

(7) elected

representation in the Legislative Council, as well

as in other governing bodies,

and a promise of ultimate African

predominance.

The independent was soon religion.

outlook which emerged in the political arena

to be carried over into the spheres of education

In 1928-30

KCA

and

led the attack against the various

had earlier rejected polygamy and now required their members to renounce female circumcision and the traditional ‘pagan’ songs and dances. With education almost entirely in the hands of the missionaries, the latter had the power to virtually exclude from educational opportunities those girls who underwent the traditional circumcision ceremony deemed necessary by Kikuyu and Masai for full membership of the tribe and marriage or children whose parents adhered to customary beliefs and practices. Membership in a Christian sect, and adherence to its rules, was thus the price Africans had to pay if they wished to acquire a formal educaChristian mission societies which

—

—

tion.

As a result of this conflict, and the growing Kikuyu desire for more and better education, there emerged in 1928-9 two independent school movements The Kikuyu Independent Schools Association (KISA) and the Kikuyu Karing’a (i.e., ‘Pure’) Educational Association. As education was inextricably linked in the minds of the Kikuyu with religion, KISA established the African Independent Pentecostal Church and the KKEA formed an attachment with the African Orthodox Church. Each of these separatist or independent church movements sought to interweave or syncretize Christianity particularly that of the Old Testament with valued and important aspects of traditional belief and practice. Thus, for example, the Old Testament refers to polygamous marriages without condemnation and nowhere forbids female circumcision. Why then, it was argued, should Africans be forced to accept European interpretations and rulings in these matters as laid down arbitrarily by the mission:

—

—

aries.

The independent

church-school movements, standing openly opposed to any interference or intervention by the white mis-

AN INTRODUCTION sionaries,

young

reflected

the growing anti-European feelings of the

political leaders of

KCA, whose

attempts to gain a redress

of African grievances through constitutional

edly

frustrated

39

by an intransigent

settler

means were repeatelite and colonial

administration.

By 1939

the

KCA

had a paid up membership

of 2,000 (which

soon rose to 7,000), a considerably larger number of supporters, and a growing influence in the independent church-school

movements. They established the Teachers Training College at Githuguri, in the Kiarnbu District, which was open to students of all tribes, and in other ways tried to achieve African solidarity and inter-tribal cooperation. In 1938, for example, the KCA made common cause with the Kamba march of 1,500 on Nairobi in protest against forced destocking.

a protest demonstration

among

They

also helped organize

the Teita, precipitated by the

from the Teita Hills, and played an important the Mombasa dock and casual workers’ strike of 1939

latters’ eviction

role in

and in the general agitation of that period for the establishment of an African trades union movement. There is no question that the power and influence of the KCA were on the rise when, in May 1940, it was declared an illegal society, largely on the pretext that it was in contact with the King’s enemies in Ethiopia.

with those of

its

Teita and

Twenty

Kamba

KCA

sister

leaders,

associations,

along

were

and detained or imprisoned. With its offices in Nairobi closed, its newspapers suppressed and most of its prominent leaders removed, the KCA was driven underground, where it remained alive but relatively inactive during the course of the Second World War. In 1944, after the release of the banned KCA leaders and the appointment of Kenya’s first African Legislative Council member, a new, broad-based, congress-type African association was formed. Changing its name from the Kenya African Union (KAU) to the Kenya African Study Group under Government pressure, and then back to KAU in 1946, this body’s expressed aims were arrested

.

.

.

people of Kenya; to prepare the way for the introduction of democracy in Kenya; to defend and pro... to unite the African

mote the

interests of the African

people by organizing, educating

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

40

and leading them

in

the struggle

for better

working condi-

housing, etc.; to fight for equal rights for all Africans; to break down racial barriers to strive for the extension to all African adults the right to vote and be elected to the East African tions,

;

Central Assembly,

Kenya

Legislative Council, Local

Government

and other representative bodies; to publish a political newspaper periodically; to fight for freedom of assembly, press and movement; and to raise and administer the funds necessary to affect these objects.

(KAU

Constitution)

hope of democratic reform, bred by British pronouncements during the war and accession to power of the Labour Party in England, KAU succeeded in building up a conFilled with the

siderable

Through

following during the course of the next six years. its official

Swahili newspaper, Sauti ya Mwafrica (The

African Voice), and numerous vernacular newspapers,

it

pleaded

and case of Kenya Africans on every front, from land and wages to increased political representation, color-bar and the the cause

four freedoms popularly associated with the allied cause during

Membership grew

an estimated 100,000 and crowds of thirty to fifty thousand were not unknown at the public meetings presided over by Jomo Kenyatta and other officials. The independent churches and schools flourished, the latter numbering about 300 by 1952 with an enrollment of nearly 50,000 pupils, and the labor movement was gaining in both strength and membership. The East African Trade Union Congress was formed shortly after the war by Fred Kubai and Makhan Singh and, despite mounting Government pressure, demonstrated its growing power in May 1950 by leading an 18-day general strike in Nairobi. Speaking in the name of Kenya’s six million Africans, leadership was drawn from all major tribal groupings and its branches were rapidly being established throughout the colony. the war.

to

KAU

KAU

Despite

its

nationalist character

and

aspirations, however,

not surprising that the Kikuyu, with their

it

is

more numerous and

experienced leaders and generally higher level of political consciousness, should predominate in both the rank-and-file and

Kenya African Union. This was true union movement wdiere, as with KAU, the

ruling committee of the also of the trade

degree of Kikuyu involvement was at least in part a result of their predominance within the urban milieu of Nairobi. In 1948

AN INTRODUCTION

41

contained 86,000 Africans of which over 55,000 were

this city

Kikuyu.

The banned Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), though retaining its own identity, was of course influential and active within KAU, the trade union movement and the independent church and school movement. In a relatively small-scale society such as Kenya, with its broad peasant base, high illiteracy rate and deepening cleavage between white and black, it comes as no shock to find a numericallv small but dedicated core of educated / or semi-educated African leaders assuming more or less important roles in a fairly wide range of associations. The existence of a dominant European caste and colonial regime, combined with a subordinant African population whose aspirations were growing yet repeatedly frustrated, provided a large

number

of African

groups with a common ‘enemy’ or set of obstacles and, hence, a unifying base of shared interests and aims. There was thus a good deal of overlap in both the leadership and rank-and-file membership of Kenya’s African political, trade union and church-school movements. This cross-linking of various African

was tending to produce a single movement in much the same sense and way as the multitude of American Negro religious, political, civil rights and other groups have emerged in the 1960’s within the United States as the Negro Movement. With KAU being a united front or congress-type nationalist association, comprised of persons and leaders with a fairly wide range of interests and political views, it can safely be assumed that KCA members constituted the more radical element on the spectrum of moderate to militant thought. Becoming more associations

active during the early post-war years, the

KCA

nevertheless

remained a highly select and, of necessity, secret association whose membership was limited to tried and trusted individuals. In mid- 950, however, KCA leaders decided to radically shift their policies of recruitment. They set out to boldly expand KCA membership and to become, in eflect, an underground mass movement. While the specific reasons behind this move remain unclear, it is fairly certain that it was influenced greatly by the dashed hopes for democratic reforms, combined with a growing pessimism regarding the possibility of achieving their political objectives through purely constitutional means and an increasing fear that the settler political machine was gaining 1

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

42

ground in its struggle for an autonomous or ‘independent’ whitedominated Kenya on the pattern of Southern Rhodesia. The overall strategy of KCA was to forge an iron-clad unity among all Kenya Africans, beginning with the more politically conscious Kikuyu, in order to press their political demands as a single integrated body and be prepared to use various forms of pressure, such as the general strike, massive boycotts of European goods and ultimately

force,

if

such a line of action became

necessary.

though their aims regarding land, wages, education, the color-bar and African political predominance were the same as those of KAU, the KCA was prepared to countenance In

brief, then,

revolutionary

means

the

if

KAU’s more moderate

peaceful,

constitutional

efforts

of

leadership failed. This latter possibility,

became a reality over the course of the next two years. Government, spurred on by the settler elite, did its best to stifle the African nationalist movement, suppressing some of the KAU and vernacular newspapers, arresting labor leaders, withholding permission for public meetings, etc., while at the same time rein fact,

maining as intransigent as ever to African demands. In summary, then, the articulation of African grievances was a vital underlying and conditioning factor with regard to the ‘Mau Man Revolution’ we shall be examining. For over thirty years, and through a wide variety of African associations, a nationalist ideology was evolved which, to the Kikuyu peasant and worker, came to be symbolized in the expression and demand for ‘Land and Freedom’. The tendency of this ideology to become more radical was a reflection of the intensifying struggle between a subordinant African majority, increasingly aware of its potential power, and a ruling European minority, ever fearful that its privileged position might be swept away in the rising current of African nationalism. in this struggle should also

Government

repression

—

be clear

:

The

pattern of events

constitutional

demands

militant reaction.

might now be asked, any peculiar features of traditional Kikuyu society which help explain this people’s independent response and, ultimately, revolutionary reaction to colonial rule and white dominance? The answer, I believe, is in

Were

there,

it

the affirmative.

It

centers

around two

closely related aspects of

AN INTRODUCTION Kikuyu

43

which were fundamentally incompatible with the imposed colonial system and conditioned an independent response to it. The first of these, a decentralized and democratic political system, fostered among the Kikuyu a deep-seated suspicion of the highly centralized, authoritarian system imposed by the British and a tendency to reject the legitimacy and resist the dictates of the latter. The second, an age-grade system wherein leadership emerged on the basis of demonstrated personal qualities such as skill, wisdom and ability, underlay the Kikuyu rejection of British-appointed ‘chiefs’ and their tendency to by-pass the latter and organize independent associations under popular leaders when the occasion arose to seek a redress of society

grievances. Let us

now

consider these factors in

somewhat

greater

detail.

Empire during the 1890’s, the Kikuyu peoples fell into four major tribal groupings the Kikuyu, Meru, Chuka and Embu. They occupied the present administrative districts of Kiambu, Fort Hall, Nyeri, Embu and Meru, plus contiguous areas of varying extent later alienated by the British for settler use. The Kikuyu, Prior to their forced incorporation within the British

—

or ‘Kikuyu proper’ as they are frequently termed, were divided

autonomous sub-tribes, each occupying its own distinctive territory. North of the Chania River were the Gaki of Nyeri and Metumi of Murang’a or Fort Hall; south of the Chania were the Karura of Kiambu. A number of smaller sub-tribes of the Meru, Chuka and Embu occupied territories approximating to the current Embu and Meru districts. Though closely related both historically and culturally, in terms of language, religion, world-view and other customary beliefs and into three politically

practices, neither the

‘Kikuyu

tribes’

nor the ‘Kikuyu proper’

were integrated within a unitary or centralized

political struc-

even within the Kikuyu sub-tribes political power was held by a number of fairly small and semi-autonomous ture. In fact,

geopolitical groupings.

Among

the

Kikuyu proper, the

largest localized kinship unit

was the mbari or sub-clan, a land-holding group containing as many as 5,000 persons and comprised of the male descendants of a common ancestor together with their wives and dependent children. The head of the sub-clan, if not the original founder, was chosen from amongst the latter’s brothers, sons or grandsons

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

44 by

all

the adult males of the group. His selection, based on

qualifications such as

wisdom,

tact

and

ability as

a religious

a lengthy process of discussion carried on until unanimity of opinion was achieved. In this same manner, decisions were reached relating to sub-clan land

leader,

was the

result of

githaka ) and other matters, religious and secular, which were the exclusive concern of the entire mbari. Affairs of lesser scope, (

affecting only the

members

of a given

polygamous or extended

family, were handled within these smaller constituent units of the

sub-clan.

The

which an mbari formed the core was the itura or ‘village’ which contained, in addition to sub-clan members, a number of attached dependants and tenants ( ahoi ). These villages were dispersed rather than compact, as the member families of an itura dwelled in homesteads scattered over the entire githaka. Disputes and other matters affecting the whole village group were handled by a village council of elders ( kiama kia itura ), which performed a wide range of judicial, religious and social functions. A number of villages formed a ‘neighborhood’ or ‘fire-linked unit’ ( mwaki ), within which, according to Kikuyu law and custom, members could call upon one another for assistance in such tasks as house building or, if the need arose, for cooking water or hot coals to get a fire started. Each such mwaki which literally means ‘fire’, was administered by a neighborhood council ( kiama kia mwaki) comprised of elders representing the lower level village councils. All affairs affecting more than one village within the neighbourhood were the responsibility of this neighborhood council, which met as the occasion arose and, like territorial

and

political unit of

,

the village councils, chose a ‘spokesman’ to act as their representative in disputes, discussions, negotiations, etc., with other

neighborhoods.

The

rugongo generally comprised of several mwaki and covering an expanse of land lying between two rivers and extending some twenty or thirty miles, was the largest territorial ‘ridge’ or

unit with

members

fixed

,

political

In

all

matters affecting

of the ridge, irrespective of their sub-clan, village or

neighborhood

of senior

the rugongo

was the most important The ‘ridge council’ ( kiama kia rugongo ), elders selected by the councils of the con-

affiliations,

administrative unit.

made up

institutions.

AN INTRODUCTION stituent

neighborhoods,

held

jurisdiction

45 over

all

religious,

and military affairs which affected the entire ridge. A spokesman or muthamaki was chosen from among the council members and, being responsible to the latter, carried out any talks or negotiations which might be necessary with ‘outsiders’

judicial

or foreigners.

beyond the ridge, ad hoc councils of leading elders would be convened whenever matters arose involving members of two or more rugongo. The territorial scope of such a council, determined in each case by the particular issue or dispute being dealt with, was thus variable. The general term applied to such an area, however, was bururi (‘the countryside’), and the council or body of elders convened for bururi affairs was referred to as ‘the big council’ ( kiama kincne ) or the ‘council of the countryside’ ( kiama kia bururi ). Its members would include representatives of all the involved rugongo and, on certain very special occasions, senior or leading While no fixed

political institutions existed

elders representing all of the ridges within the territory of a

particular sub-tribe.

Turning

to the question of leadership within this decentralized

must be noted at the outset that important offices or positions of leadership, whether political, judicial, military or religious, were not, as in many African tribes, inherited or acquired by virtue of a person’s geneological standing traditional structure,

it

in a particular kinship group. Instead,

a person’s

rise to

impor-

tance as a leader was determined by his position within a hier-

archy of age-grades and, equally important, by his ability to demonstrate to his peers those personal qualities and skills believed necessary for the natural leader. To understand this process,

it

is

useful to consider the characteristic

manner

in

which a leader emerged within the Kikuyu age-grade system and ffie political

structure outlined above.

Leadership, viewed as an inherent quality or capacity, began

Kikuyu male. While still a very small child ( gakenge ), a leader of the future would have taken charge of the games and mischief of the children to reveal itself quite early in the life of a

within his homestead

(

rnuchii). His greater knowledge of the

world around him, his popularity and flair for leadership, made him a sort of hero among his age mates. Before long, he would engage the child leaders of other homesecrets of the adult

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

46

he emerged successful in the clash of personalities and wits, would be the acknowledged leader of all the children within the itura. By this time, he would have passed beyond the status of gakenge or child to that of kaana, a young boy still too small to help in the herding of his family’s goats and sheep. Soon, however, he would take up this chore and, as a kahi or young lad, would mix in work and play with others of similar status within the mwaki or neighborhood. At this stage, since mwaki games and dances were organized affairs, leadership assumed a more formal quality. Our future leader had to, in comsteads in the village and,

if

petition with other village leaders, demonstrate his superiority as

a personality, in directing social activities and in maintaining

he did, he would automatically assume his place as the rightful leader of all the young boys of the neighborhood. Other leaders, while retaining positions of leadership within their discipline. If

respective villages,

would defer

to

him

in matters

and

activities of

neighborhood scope. With the approach of circumcision and initiation into adult status, this young boy now referred to along with his peers as would join the boys’ kiama or ngutu (‘club’) of his mwaki. kihi The ngutu which had its own clubhouse, charged an entrance usually of one banana fee and ‘heard’ cases involving misbehaviour among its members, performed the important functions of inculcating an esprit de corps, conditioning habits of obedience, discipline and mutual aid, and providing a framework for the flowering of natural leaders. If he maintained his drive and popularity, this kihi would have become leader of his boys’ club and sat as president or muciriri of the ngutu court ( njama ). When old enough, he would be recognized as the leader of the young men of his mwaki who were ready for circumcision. He would play a prominent part in arranging games and dances and, generally, in organizing the social life of youths within the neighborhood. After circumcision and the completion of the initiation ceremony, which normally covered a span of several months, this youth would have become a member of a named age-set ( riika ), comprised of all the boys initiated that year within the sub-tribe. He would also become a junior warrior ( mumo ) and, if successful, the leader of his age-set within the mwaki and, on payment of a goat, a member of the council of junior warriors ( njama ya aanake a mumo). When his set advanced to the status of senior

— —

—

,

—

)

AN INTRODUCTION

47

making a payment

warriors ( aanake ), each youth

two goats, he leader under the command and passing

would become a section on the orders of the commander of the senior ment,

i.e.,

a unit comprised of

all

of

age-set of his regi-

youths initiated over a thirteen

year period.

he demonstrated a capacity for leadership as a warrior, he would sit on the ‘council of war’ ( n jama ya ita); a body comprised, in addition to regiment leaders, of senior advisors, who were no longer of warrior status, and a war magician or In time,

if

mundo mugo wa

who

and cleanse warriors and to determine the propitious time and place for raids. In addition to its strictly military functions in offense and defense, the war council was responsible for policing the markets, preserving order within the community, carrying out and enforcing the decisions and rulings of the elders’ courts, and mainita ,

utilized his art to bless

taining discipline within the warrior ranks.

and competition for reputation with his peers, a future leader was successful, his prestige and influence would spread beyond the confines of his own mwaki. As the time approached for his riika or age-set to leave the status of active If,

in contact

he might, while retaining leadership of the riika within his mwaki have gained an influence within his ragongo and earned the respect and attention of local elders as a person of sound mind and dispassionate judgment. Upon marriage and birth of his first child, he would begin to ascend the hierarchy of elders’ ranks, each marked by the payment of a goat. At first, as a kamatimo or elder of the lowest grade, he would be invited to attend and listen as the elders’ kiama determined suits; in minor cases, he would sometimes be called warriors,

,

upon

to express his

own

views regarding the evidence and ver-

he passed this ‘test’ he would be given the opportunity to advance in seniority more rapidly than his age-mates and, if inclined toward the law, train as a future muthamaki wa cira dict. If

(leader in law).

He would move

quickly up the several sub-grades

of junior elder.

When

his first child

was ready

for circumcision, he

would enter

the lowest sub-grade of senior elders ( athamaki and, as his reputation for skill

and wisdom

would increasingly be

in the arbitration of cases spread,

called

upon

he

to assist in the settlement of

important disputes over a wider area After achieving the highest

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

48

rank of senior elder ( ukuru ), he would serve as the spokesman and representative ( muthamaki ) of the elders’ council (kiama) within his village

(

and neighborhood

itura )

(

mwaki ); and

if

his pres-

and reputation exceeded that of other athamaki within the ridge, he would act as spokesman and advocate for his rugongo and be called upon to serve on the ‘council of the countryside’ kiama kia bururi) as occasion necessitated. As a muthamaki wa bururi (‘leader of the countryside’), he might develop into a prominent political figure whose strength of personality and broad base of popular support would enable him to exert considerable influence over important legislative and tige

(

military decisions in his rugongo and, perhaps, even within wider political alliances of bururi scope. If,

however, at an earlier stage

had been more specifically toward the military or the law, he may have become a prominent ‘leader in war’ muthamaki wa ita) or ‘leader in law’ muthamaki wa in his career, his bent

(

(

Had

he neither the ability or ambition for such high rank and position, he would perhaps have remained simply a respected

chira).

elder

and member

of the

kiama within

his village.

Positions of leadership within the traditional

Kikuyu

social

system were thus achieved, on the basis of demonstrated skills and wisdom, rather than inherited or determined by one’s status should be added, were they positions which a person could expect to hold for the duration of his life. For at birth. Neither,

within

each

it

Kikuyu

were grouped into named generation-sets ( riika ) which succeeded one another in ‘ruling’ the ‘country’ for a period of from twenty-five to thirty years. Toward the end of such a period, when the elders of the ‘ruling’ generation

sub-tribe,

decided

it

age-sets

was time

to step

down

or retire

from active political life, an itwika or ‘handing over ceremony’ would be planned. When the ‘country’ was at peace and all outstanding debts and disputes had been settled, this ceremony, which formally marked the accession to power of the junior generation-set, was held simultaneously at various designated places within the territory of the sub-tribe.

The

actual process of

handing over, however, since it required the payment of a stipulated number of goats and sheep from the new to the retiring leaders, normally covered a period of two or three years. Political authority, then, was vested in the elders of a given generation-set for a limited and fairly well specified period of

— AN INTRODUCTION time.

The

hypothetical leader whose career

49

we have

followed

above, though his opinions and advice

may have

and been

yield his position

of considerable weight,

would

been

solicited

and the

various insignia of his office to a younger and, perhaps, equally talented

and ambitious

In

we have

brief,

elder of the

new

‘ruling’ generation.

seen that the traditional

Kikuyu

political

was decentralized and inherently democratic, with effective decision-making and enforcement powers resting for the most part in numerous local hierarchies of councils within each sub-tribe. We have noted, with respect to this kiama or council system, that: (i) councils were convened as the occasion demanded and reached decisions on the principle of ‘discussion until unanimity was achieved’; (2) the particular council convened (sub-clan, village, neighborhood, etc.) was determined in each case by the scope and nature of the question or dispute at issue; (3) composition was based on the principle of ‘lower-level representation on higher-level councils’, with the latter owing their authority to the former; (4) the spokesman or muthamaki of a given council, whether that of the village or the ridge which represented the largest fixed administrative unit was responsible to and acted in the name and with the approval of the entire body; and (5) positions of leadership were achieved, structure

—

within a system of age-grades or ranks, rather than ascribed

and were limited

in duration

by the periodic accession to

political

authority of junior generation-sets.

With

the imposition of British colonial rule, this traditional

system was in large measure destroyed, or at least irreparably damaged. Not only were the Kikuyu tribes and sub-tribes

brought within the highly centralized and authoritarian structure of the British Empire, but in this very process the age-grade system upon which their previous autonomy rested was dealt a series of rude and, ultimately, crippling blows. Military defeat at the turn of the century

the absence of a unified

— a piece-meal

command and

affair

made

easier

by

coordinated military

campaign (though ultimately decided in favor of the British by the technological superiority of the Maxim-gun) brought with it an end to the warriors’ councils and age-regiments. The ‘legitimate’ use of force was now a monopoly of the colonial regime, and the non-military as well as the strictly military functions of the Kikuyu age-sets began to wither. The hiatus

—

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

50

in the system of age groupings created

by the dissolution

of the

age-regiments hastened the dissipation of the entire system. And the various sub-clan, village and neighborhood units previously

by the age-sets within a sub-tribe became increasingly isolated from one another within the British-imposed

cross-linked

administrative system.

Furthering the confusion and breakdown of the traditional age-based political system was the fact that itwika or ‘handing

were banned; a move necessitated, from the Government’s point of view, by the appointment of life-term, salaried ‘chiefs’, whose offices were made hereditary and who were granted arbitrary, albeit limited, powers which no traditional muthamaki possessed. The latter, as we have seen, though possessing a degree of administrative authority in both secular and religious affairs, had little or no ‘personal’ power. As the spokesman of a ridge council or ad hoc bururi council, a muthamaki was not a ‘chief’ in either the conventional or anthropological sense. He was the chairman and representative of a body which reached decisions through discussion and consensus and

over’ ceremonies

owed its authority to lower-level councils. The Kikuyu, therefore, differed from

other African tribes

were incorporated within the colonial administrative structure where, taking on a highly ambivalent character (in the sense of theoretically reflecting and acting in the interest of both the colonial government and the subordinant population), they tended to act as a focal point and botde-neck of popular grievances. The Kikuyu, on the other hand, found themselves with no traditionally acknowledged or legitimate institutions through which to speak or express their discontents. The appointed ‘chiefs’ were seen from the outset as Government officials, if not agents, with powers over but no traditional responsibilities toward their people. Thus, Kenyatta

whose

traditional chiefly offices

has stated that has been said that the Gikuyu do not respect their chiefs, namely, the ‘appointed ones’. This is perfectly true, and the It

reason

is

not far to seek.

The Gikuyu

who have been appointed

people do not regard those

over their heads as the true repre-

sentatives of the interests of the

community.

better than the chiefs themselves, because

No

one knows

many

of

this

them are

AN INTRODUCTION

51

only able to continue in their position through the fact that

might

is

over right.

The Gikuyu know

perfectly well that these

chiefs are appointed to represent a particular interest, namely,

the interest of the British

Government, and as such they cannot

expect popularity from the people

and It is

exploit.

not

whom

they help to oppress

1

difficult to

understand, therefore, that

when

the

felt

need to express themselves politically arose, there was a structural tendency for the Kikuyu to by-pass ‘approved’ institutions, such as that of the ‘chief’, and seek to form others more in line with the traditional pattern and principles of leadership and organization; others, that is, which could be trusted to unambiguously represent the will and interests of the people. As we have seen, this tendency expressed itself as early as 1920 and continued unabated for the next three decades. It continues to express itself even to this day. The reader, in later sections of the book, will be able to observe a considerable measure of continuity, at least as regards certain major patterns, between the traditional Kikuyu social system and the structure and organization of the underground movement and guerrilla forces which emerged within the colonial context. Continuities, however, are not identities and, as we shall see, these new groupings bore the stamp of modernity as well as tradition. *

Turning to a consideration of the underground movement from 1950 until the outbreak of the revolt in early 1953, we might look first at some of the confusion which has arisen concerning the name ‘Mau Mau’. On 31 May 1950, nineteen Africans (seventeen Kikuyu, one Masai and one Kisii) were accused, at the famous Naivasha Trial, of having administered an illegal oath binding

its

takers to a certain secret

Mau Mau

association.

In August of the same year, this society was officially proscribed and, through its repeated and constant use by Government, press

and

with the 1

‘Mau Mau’ was irrevocably linked underground movement and revolt which followed some

radio, the appellation

Jomo Kenyatta, Facing Mount Kenya

,

p. 196,

Seeker

&

Warburg, 1953.

52

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

.

AN INTRODUCTION three years later. this

While

extremely

it is

term, the information

I

53

difficult to

avoid use of

have been able to gather from

informants and other sources points inescapably to the conclusion that

To ‘Mau either

it is

a misnomer.

begin with, no one seems to know precisely what the term Mau’ means, as it has no accepted literal meaning in

Kikuyu or Swahili. Some suggest

Uma Uma

that

it

‘really’

meant

(Out, Out), referring to the African desire that Euro-

peans leave Kenya, and was arrived at through a traditional children’s game wherein the sounds of common words were transposed as in our own Pig-Latin. A few informants have suggested that one of the defendants at the Naivasha Trial used the expression ‘mumumumu’ when referring to the whispered voices within the darkened oathing

hut and that European journalists present thought he had said ‘Mau Mau’. In a similar vein, Karari Njama has recently written informing me that .

After a long research first

who

African

police

have come

to the conclusion that the

disclosed the secrecy of the society at Naivasha

European officer, ‘I have been given an oath. The European being neither able to pro-

station

MUMA\

I

.

told

a

MUMA

correctly, created his own pronuncianounce nor spell ‘mau mau’. This error has happened more than a hundred tion. times in this country, especially in the names of mountains, rivers and places. The correct name of Mt. Kenya is Kir inyaga. The Akamba people have neither the letter r nor g standing alone in their language and therefore their pronunciation for Kirinyaga is Kiinyaa, out of which the European, being unable to pronounce it, created Kenya. .

.

Mr Njama meaning

goes on to indicate what he believes

of the

is

a secondary

term ‘Mau Mau’, invented after the name had

already become established. Here, the initials of the name are intended to stand for the Swahili words Mzungu Arudi Uinge-

Mwafrica Apate Uhuru meaning, ‘Let the European return England and the African obtain his freedom ’.

reza,

to

,

Perhaps the most plausible explanation regarding the origin of this term was given by another informant who said :

Mau mau

was not a widely known word among Kikuyu. Its only meaning was ‘greedy eating,’ sometimes used by mothers to

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

54

who were eating Kiambaa, in Kiambu

rebuke children

too fast or too much. In

location of

District,

used occasionally

when

shillings

talking about certain elders

was also who, when it

were more interested in the or goats they would receive than in dispensing

called to hear a case

few

however,

my

by the

chief,

These elders often magnified the seriousness of the case they were hearing in order to get from the guilty person a fine of a goat or lamb, which they would then slaughter, roast and eat ... as if they were merely carrying out traditional Kikuyu legal practices. Earning a reputation for being greedy, these elders were sometimes called the Kiama kia Mau Mau or ‘Council of Greedy Eaters’. It is my belief that the man who used the term ‘Mau Mau’ at the Naivasha Trial was referring to the men who administered the oath as bad elders, who wanted only his initiation fee and the feast of a goat

justice.

,

.

Though

no doubt

there are

explanations, suffice

meaning or

it

several other interpretations

to say here that

origin for the term

argues favorably, in

my

.

and

no generally accepted

‘Mau Mau’

exists.

This fact

opinion, for the view that the term

attachment to the underground movement and revolt were fortuitous developments. Another, and perhaps more convincing, reason for consideritself

and, particularly,

its

‘Mau Mau’ a misnomer is the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, members of the Movement never used this term when talking amongst themselves about their Society; nor was ing

it

ever incorporated in any of the oaths, songs, prayers or other

ceremonials which

I

have come across in the course of

my

The point here is that regardless of the origin or meaning of ‘Mau Mau’, and despite the fact that members of the Movement knew very well that Government and the European press were referring to their association when they invoked this research.

was simply never accepted by the Africans involved in the Movement as being anything more than the white man’s term,

it

name

for their association.

There were, however, several other names frequently used by members when referring to the Movement and repeatedly invoked in song, prayer and oath. These were: (i) Uiguano wa Muingi, or simply Muingi, meaning literally ‘The Unity of the Community’ or ‘The Community’, but perhaps better figuratively

AN INTRODUCTION

55

Gikuyu na Mumbi or simply Gikuyu, referring to the traditionally acknowledged founders of the Kikuyu tribe; (3) Muhimu meaning ‘Most Important’ in Swahili and very likely used as a code word; (4) Muigwithania rendered ‘The Movement’;

(2)

,

,

,

‘The Unifier’, but also the name of a vernacular KCA newspaper; (5) Muma, meaning ‘Oath’ and used when referring to the ‘Oath of Unity’, Muma wa Uiguano was also frequently literally

,

used

KCA,

when

referring to the

Movement

as

a whole,

and

(6)

Kikuyu Central Association. In brief, then, while it must be admitted that detailed information is scanty and that considerably more research needs or the

to be carried out in this area, the evidence

now

available seems

view that there never was an independent secret society identifying itself as ‘Mau Mau’. And that the underground movement which most writers refer to as ‘Mau Mau’ was in fact a direct lineal descendant of the banned KCA which, as pointed out earlier, underwent a dramatic shift beginning in 1950 from a highly selective, elite organization to an underground mass movement. Let us now consider some of the salient features of this movement as they developed over the course of the next few years. to support the

With its headquarters established in Nairobi, the KCA sought to expand its membership by forming a complex of local groups or cells in both the city and rural areas of the reserve and Rift Valley. The migrant labor system, in terms of which the vast majority of urban workers were obliged to maintain dualresidence in the city and reserve, lent itself nicely to this process. Organizers, themselves recruited in the city, were sent or simply went as the occasion arose into their rural areas to recruit kinsmen, friends, neighbors and co-workers. This process of recruitment involved two important factors the Oath of Unity ( Muma wa Uiguano) and an implicit territorial criterion of membership. Oaths having been an important sanction in traditional Kikuyu society, it is not surprising that the KCA utilized them, as far back as 1926, to guarantee the allegiance of its members. Now, as an underground movement in 1950, it demanded strict secrecy as well as total commitment and the oath was altered to meet these requirements. With the idea that equally binding oaths would be devised for other tribes, the Kikuyu-Embu-Meru :

M A U M A U FROM WITHIN

56

combined features of the traditional initiation ceremony, modified and adapted to current cirjudicial oaths and curses cumstances and obviously more binding in their promise of with the threat of physical divine sanction upon the illiterate punishment or death to those who refused to take or violated their vows. Following is an informant’s recollection of this oath version

—

—

which, this

I

believe,

is

period,

early

typical of the thousands administered during

allowing,

course,

of

for

local

slight

and

regional variations.

February 1950, I decided to go home and visit my girl friend who was staying in the house of a relative in our village. When I arrived at the hut at about 7 130 p.m. I found that, while she was not there, a number of people from the

One

village

evening

in

had gathered and were

sitting

made me

about talking, laughing

what sort of meeting this was and I joined in the conversation. At around 9 p.m. a man entered the hut and said he was looking for a few strong young men like myself to assist him with some work he was doing in a nearby hut. Three of us volunteered to help and followed the man out into the darkness. The hut was only a few yards away and inside I saw about fifteen people. My father was there assisting some others in slaughtering a lamb. In the course of our conversation I asked one of the men what sort of occasion this was and he replied that they were awaiting the arrival of an important visitor. I knew all the people present and felt no cause for alarm; even though I felt somewhat confused by the situation. In a matter of minutes, I was once again called outside and and

telling tales. Curiosity

stay to find out

.

led with six others to a hut located

and separated from little

my home

beneath the black wattle trees by our kei-apple fence. I felt a

scared at this point because

I

knew

vacated long ago and could see no point house. Again, the people

they were guards

because

my

in

in

hut had been

going into a deserted

who were accompanying

—which

fact they were.

I

us acted as

was

if

also upset

clean clothes were getting wet and soiled by the high wet by the early evening rain.

made As we approached

grass

this third

the door,

I

saw a dim

light

inside

and

heard people whispering. But as we entered, the light went out and there was complete silence. We were all frightened at this

AN INTRODUCTION

57

point and entered with some reluctance on the insistence of the guards. It was pitch dark inside but voices of

many

we were and

people

who

I

could hear the whispered

soon began asking

other questions about ourselves.

I

us, in turn,

remember

who

suffer-

ing a few minutes of terror while being held around the neck

and arms by three or four people. Moments later, however, someone ordered the lights turned on and soon three hurricane lamps illumined the inside of the hut. What struck me first was the sight of an arch made of banana leaves and the fact that three men stood guard armed with simis [the traditional doubleedged Kikuyu swords]. The door of the hut had been firmly bolted and glancing around the room I estimated that there were some forty solemn-faced people inside. (Later I discovered that there were also people outside guarding the approaches to

the hut.)

One

of the

men

in the

room ordered

a queue by the arch, take

off

the seven of us to form

our shoes and remove any coins,

watches or other metal objects we might have It

was

at this point, as

I

in

our possession.

relaxed a bit and saw that most of the

people in the room were familiar to me, that

I

realized that this

ceremony was probably the one I earlier wished to undergo in order to become a member of the KGA. Though the people were stern-faced and would surely have harmed any who resisted, I was unafraid from this time onward. The man who had us remove our shoes and coins then in‘We want you young men to join us in structed us as follows the struggle for freedom and the return of our stolen land. That is why we have brought you here to swear an oath joining you with us in this struggle. Mind you, this is no joking matter. Any who refuse to take this oath will be killed and buried right here :

in this hut.’

At this point, one of the persons about to be initiated said that he had never heard of such an oath and was not willing to take it. Before he had completed his statement, however, he was hit very hard in the face. This convinced him and the rest of us that this was indeed no joking matter. The man pleaded to be allowed to take the oath and have his life spared. 1 had better explain now just how these oaths were arranged and the equipment used in the ceremony. I know these things not only from having taken the oath, but from having attended

;

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

58

dozens of such ceremonies

in

the

months following

my own

initiation. I

mentioned above that

in the

second house

I

entered a goat

was being slaughtered. The meat was roasted to be eaten later and the skin was cut into thin ribbon-like strips which were twisted and joined to form rings. The eyes of the goat were removed together with the thorax and ngata a bone which connects the head and the spinal column and contains seven holes. The eyes were stuck on either side of a 15-inch long piece of banana stalk which was hollowed out lengthwise so that it could be used as a container. Also attached were clusters of seven keiapple thorns (from a particular tree known as Muthuthi or Mugaa ) and sodom apples which were fixed to the three sides with these same thorns. This container was to hold a liquid formed by a mixture of goat’s blood, soil and crushed grains, such as maize, sorghum and beans. The arch, which stood about five feet high, was constructed of long banana stalks dug into the ground and joined at the top by tying or intertwining their leaves. On this frame were put other plants and shrubs, such as sugar cane, maize stalks, etc. The ngata of the goat and the thorax, or large chest-piece of meat, were hung from the top of the arch near the center. Throughout the ceremony, each initiate wore a ring of the twisted goatskin around his neck and held a damp ball of soil against his stomach with his right hand ... a symbol of the person’s willingness to do everything in his power to assist the association in regaining and protecting the land belonging to the Kikuyu people. ,

Standing thus before the arch, I passed through it seven times while the oath administrator uttered and I repeated the following vows

:

am

If I

(1)

work of

the

in

assist

upon

called

this

at

any time of the day or night

association,

I

will

to

respond without

hesitation

And

if I fail

(2) If I I will

And

I

am

do

so,

may

oath

kill

me.

so;

shall

who

this

required to raise subscriptions for this organization,

do not obey, may

if I

(3)

tion

do

to

is

in

this

oath

kill

never decline to help a need of assistance;

me.

member

of this organiza-

— AN INTRODUCTION And

if I

refuse such aid,

(4) I will

to

if I

this

oath

kill

me.

never reveal the existence or secrets of the association

Government or

And

may

59

to

any person who

violate this trust,

may

this

is

oath

not himself a member;

kill

me.

and repeating these vows again on each occasion, I was instructed to take seven sips of liquid from the banana stalk container, seven small bites of the goat’s thorax and performing each act seven times to prick the eyes of the dead goat and insert a piece of reed into the seven holes of the ngata. The administrator then had me take a bite of sugar cane, poured cold water over my feet and made a cross on my forehead with the blood and grain mixture. When this was completed, I was surrounded by a number of spectators who took hold of the skin ring around my neck and started counting. Reaching the num‘May ber seven, they all pulled, breaking the ring and saying you be destroyed like this ring if you violate any of these Following

this,

—

:

vows!’

The

rest of the

people repeated

this curse in unison.

T he oatfiing ceremony was thus completed and into another hut with the others.

was now roasting over the

A

I

lamb, slaughtered

was

led

earlier,

and we sat down to eat and talk till about midnight. Over fifty of us had taken the oath by this time and before departing we were all gathered together in a single

hut to receive our

entered and told us

fire

final

instructions.

we were now members

The

administrator

of the

KCA

and

by an oath of unity which would extend brotherhood to all members of the Kikuyu tribe. The white man, he said, was our enemy and we should have nothing to do with him. The land stolen from our people by the Europeans must be returned; and this could only be achieved through an unbreakable unity of all Kikuyu, who would act as a single man with a single purpose. We were then asked to pay an entrance fee of 2/5OS. and told that an additional 62 /50s. plus a ram were to be paid as soon as we were able. linked

Oath

Unity was an elaborate initiation ceremony, with the initiate becoming at one and the same time a member of the Movement and a full-fledged, and in a sense reborn, member of the tribe. One could not, it was felt, be considered fully and truly of Gikuyu without taking the Unity Oath. The ceremony itself was a modern synthesis incorporating In essence, then, this

of

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

6o

various and often modified features of the traditional initiation

ceremony

(e.g.,

passing under the arch, sipping a distasteful

mixture of symbolic elements and uttering sacred vows) and customary oaths and curses (e.g., the sacred and awesome number seven, the use of the sheep’s chest meat and seven holes of

and the githathi oath, and the curses calling for divine punishment should an initiate violate his vows), together with an element of Christian symbolism (i.e., the cross drawn on the initiate’s forehead) and modern political objectives contained in the vows and instructions calling for a return of the stolen lands and freedom, which were held to be achievable against a hostile white community only through an unbreakable African unity. As a method of recruitment into the proscribed underground movement, the Oath carried with it certain logical and practical the ngata, derived respectively from the ‘oath of the sheep’

necessities, as well as certain limitations or negative ramifications.

was necessary to prevent ‘outsiders’ or nonmembers from gaining any knowledge of the secret society, its aims or its members, prior to their own initiation. This, quite obviously, underlay the deception normally employed in getting non-members to attend an oathing ceremony. Secondly, since the society was proscribed and membership in it carried the threat of a long prison sentence, it was necessary to ensure that would-be initiates brought to an oathing ceremony became, in fact, members of the Movement who felt themselves bound by the vows of secrecy. This accounts, I believe, both for the dual threat of divine or human punishment should an initiate violate his vows and for the inherent practical necessity of killing any In the

first

person

who

place,

it

ultimately refused to take the

Oath

of Unity.

Once

an oathing ceremony, therefore, and possessed of the knowledge which this entailed, the would-be initiate faced, and the society had to present him with, the alternative of

in attendance at

taking the

While

Oath

this

or suffering the

procedure

may

unhappy consequences.

pose no great problem for a highly

underground movement, where potential members can be carefully and intensively scrutinized before they are selective, elite

actually recruited,

involves serious inherent dangers when employed on a mass scale to bring an entire population within a proscribed secret society. Thus, while the vast majority of those recruited through the Oath became active and loyal members of it

— AN INTRODUCTION the

Movement and most

6l

of the remainder held their silence

through fear of retribution, it was unavoidable that a few ‘unwilling’ initiates should violate their vows of secrecy. Such persons, having taken the Oath simply to save their lives, and unhindered by the promise of divine punishment (many were devout Christians who no longer believed in the efficacy of traditional oaths or curses), sought the protection of Government officials or missionaries to whom they disclosed the nature of their experiences, the secrets they had learned and, not infrequently, the names of other persons in the Movement. Again, the mass nature of the

Movement and

the fact that

all

Africans

were to be enjoined as members through an Oath of Unity as contrasted to an elite group which seeks popular support rather than a mass membership made it easier for Government to plant informers within the organization and thus gain further

—

information.

The

results

of

this

leakage are best considered

below.

The

other important aspect of recruitment lay in

territorial base.

The primary

its

units or basic cells of the

implicit

Move-

ment, which might contain anywhere from a dozen to several hundred members, were based, in the rural Districts of Kiambu, Fort Hall, Nyeri,

Embu and Meru, on

dispersed village group. village

As

the traditional itura or

in the past, everyone within such a

recognized his obligation to respond to a neighbor’s

alarm and felt free to call on others for assistance in domestic tasks such as house building or when minor inconveniences like running out of salt, water or firewood arose. In most instances, the smallest

Government administrative

units,

i.e.,

sub-locations,

though in some cases an entire mwaki or neighborhood might be contained within a single sub-location. In any event, residence within this unit of highly interacting and diversely related persons was an implicit criterion of membership in the Reserve cells of the Movement. As the Movement expanded, friends, neighbors and relatives would be recruited through the Oath into their sub-location group or cell. This same principle was applied in Nairobi, where the cells were comprised of individuals with a common place of origin or

correspond to these traditional

Where absolute numbers allowed, as among Kikuyu, an urban cell contained

residence in the Reserve.

was usually the case

‘villages’,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

62

members from a

single

rural

Meru and Kamba (and perhaps

sub-location.

the

With the Embu,

Norok Masai), the

cells

were

comprised of persons from larger rural administrative units, i.e., locations or divisions. For the most part, these urban groups contained fewer members than their rural counterparts and, due to the migrant nature of labor, many persons shifted irregularly from their rural to their urban sub-location group. In the Settled Areas of the Rift Valley, cells were formed within the squatter villages and on the labor-lines of European plantations and mixed farms. With travel made difficult by the

work schedule, the

restrictive

nature of labor contracts and the

Trespass Ordinance, these groups were forced to recruit members on the basis of proximity or current residence rather than, as in the city,

They

on the

basis of place of origin in the Reserve.

somewhat more heterogeneous in composition than their counterparts in Nairobi and the Reserve. The structure of the underground movement, revealing the influence of traditional patterns, was based largely on the principle of lower-level representation on higher level councils. In contrast to the traditional pattern, however, and obviously a thus tended to be

response to the contemporary colonial situation, this structure

was

centralized, with a hierarchy of interlinked councils inte-

Movement’s primary groups. In the Reserve Districts of Kiambu, Fort Hall, Nyeri, Embu and Meru, councils or committees were formed within the existing Government administrative units, beginning with the sublocation and moving up through the location, division and district. Each of the several sub-location groups within a location was headed by a council, normally consisting of nine officials, which would select two or three of its members to represent it on the location committee; each of several such location councils within a division would, in turn, select two or three of its members to represent it on the division council and, repeating

grating

all

of the

the process, each of the three or four division councils within a district would choose three representatives to serve on the district

committee. In Nairobi, the same principle was applied, except that each of the urban district councils selected three to six members to

on the Central Province Committee (CPC), whose headquarters were located in the city. Some of these CPC memrepresent

it

AN INTRODUCTION bers also held ex-officio

membership

63

in their respective district

by the highly mobile urban African population, were able to serve as liaison officers, linking their rural and urban district committees and representing both on the Central Province Committee. Kiambu District, which surrounds Nairobi on three sides, presents a slight variation to this pattern. Here, there was only one district council, comprised of nine members drawn from both the rural and urban division councils two each from the three Reserve councils and one each from those councils and, aided

—

in Nairobi.

With regard

though the situation is less clear, it seems that local cells in the large and densely populated Nakuru and Laikipia districts were represented on the higher councils in Nairobi by a small number of organizers and liaison officers who divided their time between the city and European Settled Areas. In some areas, such as Thomson’s Falls, Naivasha and Nakuru Town, it is likely that councils above those of the local cells were formed and may have sent representatives to to the Rift Valley,

Nairobi.

Above

the Central Province Committee, or acting as an inner

one is forced by the data to assume the existence of a central governing council (which I shall here refer to as the ‘Central Committee’) which was responsible for shaping council within

over-all policy

it,

and

directing the expansion of the

other tribal areas and regions of Kenya.

It is

Movement

into

not unlikely that

group also formed the militant, though perhaps not dominant, wing of the Kenya African Union leadership. Below, on page 64, is a chart in which I have attempted to graphically set out the major structural pattern of the underground movement as it existed prior to the Government declaration of a State of Emergency in October 1952. this

composition and functions of the various councils, we find that both ‘local’ (i.e., primary group) and intermediate councils normally consisted of nine elected mem-

Looking

at

the

bers, referred to as ‘Elders’, six of

whom

held office as Chairman,

Vice Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. While elections, usually in the form of nomination, discussion and general approval of candidates, were held at the local and all intermediate levels, many of the key

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

64

organizers gained positions on the councils in virtue of their prior

membership and

activities in the

Movement, being acknowledged

proven leaders or members of higher councils. Positions on the ‘Central Committee’ were, of course, non-elective and as the Movement expanded from this central core outwards, authority as

was often conferred upon certain persons to organize the Movement in their home areas. There were thus two distinct processes at work in determining membership on the various councils (1) from below, there were :

Chart

1.

Hierarchy of Articulating Institutions (1950*52)

COUNCIL LEVEL

IN

elections, held either

by

RESERVE

cell

IN

NAIROBI

members or councilmen,

to deter-

mine membership in the higher councils, and (2) from above, there was ‘appointment’ or the delegation of authority which,

when acknowledged,

the

persons concerned to hold office within particular councils lower than that from which their authority derived. In practice, both processes were em-

ployed on

entitled

but the highest council level, and in most instances they operated simultaneously, with persons having delegated authority being elected to leadership positions on the lower-level all

councils. It seems

on the whole, however, that the

elective prin-

AN INTRODUCTION ciple

65

predominated on the lower (sub-location and location)

while the principle of delegated authority prevailed in determining key officials at the higher (division, district and levels,

provincial) levels.

Ultimate decision and policy making powers were held by the ‘Central Committee’, which, though essential details in this area are lacking, presumably decided on such matters as the basic

propaganda and action programs and methods of expanding the Movement. Where Government prosecution of prominent leaders was concerned, this committee also, it seems, arranged and paid for the legal defense. Local cell councils had the authority, as well as the responsibility, to collect fees and dues from cell members, plan and hold oathing ceremonies, organize pressure against non-members to join the Movement (usually in the form of total ostracism) and plan and carry out action against Government informers. They also passed information and money to and received instructions from higher councils, kept local records, sought to spread and increase understanding of the Movement’s aims and, as with all other councils, sat as a court of law whenever the occasion features of the oath, dues

and

fees,

necessitated.

Intermediate councils, from the location to the primarily as links in the chain of

district,

served

command and communication.

In addition, however, they did a good deal of organizational work at the division or district level, such as planning and holding mass oathing ceremonies (particularly in Nairobi), arranging for

attendance,

(KAU)

transportation

political rallies, etc.

and entertainment

They

also sat as courts

at

public

when

the

occasion arose, promoted the Movement’s aims through propa-

ganda and helped implement the Nairobi general strike

European

beer, cigarettes

certain action

(May and

buses.

new members and

cells

centered around the

participation in oathing cere-

monies. It was incumbent upon every

many

as

1950) and the later boycotts on

Individual roles within the local

recruitment of

programs such

member

to bring into

and acquaintances as he could and this was usually accomplished by inviting such persons to a feast or party which turned out to be an oathing ceremony. Deception in this regard, as we have seen, was a practical necessity, since divulging the time and place of an oathing ceremony the group as

friends, relatives

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

66 to a

non-member was both dangerous

to the other

members and

a punishable violation of the oath. In the ceremony itself, various roles were assumed or assigned ranging from oath administrator (sometimes sent from Nairobi) and assistant to guard, messenger,

and general audience participant. At this stage, the primary role of each cell was to achieve a ioo per cent membership within the sub-location, squatter village, labor-line or urban sector from which it was entitled to recruit. Though action tasks such as those mentioned above were carried out by the cells on the instruction of higher councils, it must be borne in mind that over-all strategy during this period was centered on unifying the entire African population within the Movement and being prepared for passive or violent resiscook, paraphernalia procurer

tance

when

the opportunity arose.

Government pressure continued to mount after the Naivasha Trial and the proscription of ‘Mau Mau’ in August 1950. Through informers and less direct leakages of information, Government gained an increasing knowledge of the Movement and was able to make numerous arrests and raids on oathing ceremonies. By September 1952 there were over 400 persons in prison for having taken or administered ‘Mau Mau’ oaths and several hundred others were awaiting trial. By this time, however, the Movement had grown considerably. Most of my informants, as well as other sources, estimate that somewhere between 75 per cent and 90 per cent of the Kikuyu population had taken the Oath of Unity and the Movement was beginning to spread, particularly in Nairobi, to other tribes such as the

Kamba, Masai,

Kipsigis and, to a lesser degree, the

Luo and

Baluhya.

These simultaneous processes of mounting external or Government pressure and rapid expansion of the Movement had several related ramifications which might be summarized as follows (1) increasing membership resulted in greater leakages of information through informers and, combined with a growing external threat, led to greater security precautions, a more binding and militant oath and more severe sanctions against ‘traitors’

and non-members; (2) British Government intransigence to KAU’s political demands plus mounting settler pressure for ‘independence’ and sterner action against both KAU and the

AN INTRODUCTION underground movement led

more threat

positive action;

and

67

to increased internal pressure for

increasing membership, the external

(3)

internal pressure for greater militancy

made com-

munication and effective control by the ‘Central Committee’ more difficult and led to a considerable de facto devolution of decision making power to lower level councils and individual leader-organizers; (4) the felt need for Kikuyu unity, combined with the above factors, led to an increase in the use of tribal as opposed to African-national symbols and tended to inhibit full

by other tribes a5 well as by a significant proportion of semi-educated and educated Kikuyu who either remained passive or lined up on the Government side. participation

Closely related to the above mentioned developments are two

events which

1953-6 revolution in Kenya. The first, with benefit of hindsight, might generally be termed ‘premature acts of violence’ and included a number of

sets of

I

believe precipitated the

such as the firing of Government

isolated events

loyalists’

homes

and the assassination of Senior Chief Waruhiu of Kiambu in October of this same year. Though it is quite likely that most of these incidents were initiated by local leaders, they were not altogether unrelated to the introduction around mid- 1952 of a second oath which was to be administered to young men of ‘warrior’ age (16-30) who would then constitute militant wings attached to and under the direction of the various ‘elders’ councils. Below are the seven vows in the Nyeri District early in 1952

characteristic of this oath

:

0

(1)

I

speak the truth and swear before Ngai (God) and before

everyone present here

And by Which That

To I

this is

shed

And

if

called the

called

if

shall

Batuni Oath of Muingi (the Movement)

upon

my blood

movement

of killing,

to fight for

for

our land,

it,

obey and never surrender. I fail to do so :

May this oath kill me May this thenge kill me May this seven kill me May this meat kill me

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

68 (2)

I

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before every-

one present here

And

before the children of Gikuyu and

That That

never betray our country

I shall

never betray a

shall

I

Mumbi

member

of

Muingi

to

our

enemies

Whether they be European, Asian or African. And that if I do this

May (3)

I

this

oath

kill

me,

etc.

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before every-

one present here

That

To

I

if

am

called

upon

at night or during a storm

destroy the house or store of a European or other

enemy

do so without fear and never surrender. And if I fail to do this May this oath kill me, etc. I

shall

:

(4)

I

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before every-

one present here

That

am

upon to fight Or to kill the enemy, I shall go Even if that enemy be my father or mother, if I

called

my

brother or

sister.

And

if I

May (5)

I

refuse

this

:

oath

kill

me,

etc.

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before every-

one present here

That

Muingi come by day or by night And ask me to hide them I shall do so and I shall help them. And if I fail to do this if

the people of

:

May (6)

I

this

oath

kill

me,

etc.

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before everyone present here

That That

I

shall

I shall

never seduce the

woman

of another

never take up with prostitutes

man

AN INTRODUCTION That

Nor

shall

And

if I fail

May I

steal

anything belonging to a

member

Muingi

of

(7)

never

shall

I

69

ever hate or speak badly of another member.

I

do

to

oath

this

these things

kill

me,

:

etc.

speak the truth and swear before Ngai and before every-

one present here And by this Batuni Oath of Muingi

That

shall

I

never

sell

my

money

country for

or any other

thing

That

shall abide until

I

this

death by

all

the vows

I

have made

day

That I shall never disclose our secrets to the enemy Nor shall I disclose them to anyone not a member of Muingi And if I break any of the vows I have today consciously

made I

And

this society decides to

me

give

if I fail

May May May May This

any punishment that

will agree to

to

do these things

this

me thenge kill me seven kill me

this

meat

this this

‘Warrior

oath

:

kill

kill

me.

Oath’,

later

known

as

the

‘

or

Batuni'

‘Platoon’ Oath, though just beginning to spread at the time

the State of

Emergency was declared and intended almost

cer-

tainly as the initial step in long-range military preparations,

moved certain Movement to unanticipated.

of the

more

restive or militant elements in the

actions the consequences of It

is

which were

largely

not that these isolated acts of violence

were very numerous. Under ‘normal’ circumstances they would probably not have attracted undue attention. But now, with Government on the alert and the settler politicians clamoring the for action, they set off a chain of severe counter measures second and major precipitant which found the Movement without (1) a master plan for revolution or cadres trained in the art of modem guerrilla warfare, (2) an adequate supply of arms, ammunition and other weaponry or arrangements for their con-

—

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

70

tinued supply from outside the colony and

support of tribes other than the Kikuyu,

had not

yet entered the

Movement

the necessary

(3)

Embu and Meru, which

in significant

numbers. In

short, these scattered acts of violence helped precipitate, within

the existing context, a ‘revolutionary situation’ for which the

Movement was almost totally unprepared. The second set of precipitating events was inaugurated formally on 20 October 1952 when the Kenya Government, with the consent of the Colonial Secretary, declared a State of

Emer-

gency. Within a few days, almost 200 prominent African leaders were arrested and either held for trial or detained under emer-

KAU

officials, gency regulations. These men included leading heads of the independent school and church movements, trade union leaders, journalists, businessmen, etc., as well as the educated leadership of the underground movement. In terms of

Government move virtually wiped out both the Central Province and ‘Central’ Committees the structure of the

Movement,

this

and, in so doing, the key institutions linking the various rural

and urban

district councils.

Decision making powers thus neces-

devolved to intermediate councils, comprised largely of semi-educated or uneducated leaders, which were no longer sarily

by a central committee. The Movement thus decapitated and in a state of internal confusion, its members responded almost passively to the Government repressive measures of the next few weeks. Three battalions of King’s African Rifles (KAR’s) were brought in along with the st Battalion of Lancashire Fusiliers to reinforce the normal garrison of three KAR battalions, the Kenya Regiment and police force. Police reservists and tribal police, the latter comprised largely of Turkana and Somalis, were sent into the Central Province where curfews were imposed along with collective fines and punishment and a special levy on the Kikuyu structurally linked

1

peasants to defray the cost of extra police. ‘Native’ registration and pass laws were introduced along with legislation to require the registration of

all

societies or associations, to

widen police

powers enabling arrest without warrant and to shut down newspapers and lock up presses. Most of the Kikuyu independent schools were closed down, Kikuyu ‘squatters’ in the Rift Valley numbering almost 100,000 were evicted and sent back to the crowded Reserve along with unemployed workers from Nairobi,

AN INTRODUCTION

71

and peasant labor was requisitioned for the building of guard and police posts. A significant sector of the European settler community tended to interpret the emergency declaration and legislation as promulgating a sort of ‘open season’ on Kikuyu, Embu and Meru tribesmen. Forced confessions, beatings, robbery of stock, food and clothing, brutalities of various sorts and outright killings were frequent enough occurrences to arouse a fear in the hearts of most Kikuyu that the intent of the white man was to eliminate the whole Kikuyu tribe. Combined with the general confusion, the partial disintegration of the Movement and the will of some to fight back, this fear inaugurated a slow but steady drift of

Embu and Meru

Kikuyu,

the forests of

peasants, particularly the youth, into

Mount Kenya and

the Aberdares.

Having briefly considered the context, underlying conditions and precipitants of revolt, it is legitimate at this point to ask one further question

begin

?

:

Just

when

Mau

Revolution’

must be noted

at the outset

did the

In answering this question,

it

‘Mau

always difficult and more often than not arbitrary to select a specific date or event which marks the beginning of any particular revolution. Nevertheless, it is a selection which most

that

it

is

writers, historians

and

social scientists find necessary,

if

only from

the point of view of literary, descriptive or analytic convenience.

In the case of Kenya, ally

I

believe

it

to be both useful

accurate to consider the beginning of the

lution’ as falling in that period, early in 1953,

sand Kikuyu, areas of

Embu and Meru

Mount Kenya and

themselves into fighting

and

historic-

‘Mau Mau Revowhen several thou-

peasants withdrew to the forested

and began organizing groups with the avowed purpose of the Aberdares

achieving their politico-economic aims through the use of force. Prior to this period, few

would question that there

existed

an

underground movement capable of organized violence, individual acts of arson and political assassination (directed against African opponents of the Movement) and Government repressive measures predicated on the assumption that a revolt of the Kikuyu masses had already begun. What I am inclined to doubt, however, is that such factors add up to, or even necessarily eventuate in, revolution. Certainly in the Republic of South Africa today, where an underground movement, acts of

MAU KAU FROM WITHIN

72 violence

and Government repression undoubtedly

exist,

there

does not, as of this writing, exist a revolution. What is lacking now in South Africa, and what was equally lacking in Kenya

an open confrontation whereby ‘revolutionary’ groups, bent on radically altering black-white relations and the political and other institutions through which such relations are sustained, break with the imposed colonial structure and pit prior to 1953,

is

force against force.

Contrary, then, to those writings and

official

pronouncements

which have viewed the emergency declaration as a response to an already initiated revolution, I am obliged by the data to take the position that it was the major precipitant of, rather than a reaction to, Kenya’s ‘Mau Mau Revolution’.

CHAPTER

II

KARARI’S HILL Karar

i

son/of

Njama begins

his story at

a

KAU rally in Nyeri

Showgrounds in July 1952. This event was chosen because marked a turning point in Karari’s political awareness and, fact, his

matters,

it

in

From a person relatively disinterested in political he emerged from this meeting fully aware that a new

very

life.

and very strong political consciousness was sweeping the land, and with a desire to become part of this new African force. For the grievances and just demands expressed by the KAU leaders he found proof in his own experience. Hadn’t land

named Karari’s Hill after his own grandbeen taken from him by the Europeans; and hadn’t his

rightfully his, even father,

own education been tailed, his w a g e s made

man and

cut short, his

freedom

severely cur-

miserably low and his pride and dignity

Kikuyu trampled and degraded by the color-bar, by the selfish discriminatory policies and practices of the white man and the Government he controlled? But the awareness was of more than this, for Karari had as

a

as a

suffered the injustices of colonial rule throughout the better part

He now

became aware of perhaps for the first time, the tremendous power latent in the African masses, if only they could unite and act as one. He also noted the great similarity in ends of KAU and the Movement called ‘Mau Mau’, and the fact that most of the audience supported both. of his

life.

glimpsed,

many

thousands of others, wanting to be part of this new-found oneness, Karari decided to join both and the underground movement. He, to, would become of Gikuyu. Like so

KAU

was 26 July 1952 and I sat in the Nyeri Showgrounds packed in with a crowd of over 30,000 people. The Kenya African Union was holding a rally and it was presided over by Jomo Kenyatta. He talked first of land. In the Kikuyu country, nearly half of the It

73

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

74

people are landless and have an earnest desire to acquire land so that they can have something to live on. Kenyatta pointed out that there

the wild

was a

land lying idly in the country and only

lot of

game enjoy

that, while Africans are starving of hunger.

The White Highland, he went

on, together with the forest reserves

which were under the Government Africans unjustly. This forced

me

were taken from the turn my eyes toward the

control, to

Aberdare Forest. I could clearly see Karari’s Hill, almost in the middle of the Aberdare Forest. The hill that bears my grandfather’s name and whom I am named after. Surely that is my land by inheritance and only the wild game which grandfather used to trap enjoy that very fertile land. This reminds me of my youth life in a Boer’s farm in the White Highland, but I felt that I must attend to what

The white

Jomo Kenyatta would

say next.

Africans had not agreed that this land was to be used by

men

Mbiyu is still in the United Kingdom,’ he ‘where we sent him for land hunger. We expect a Royal alone. ‘Peter

went on, Commission quickly to enquire into the land problem.’ He asked the crowd to show by hands that they wanted more land. Each person raised both his hands. And when he asked those who did not want land to show their hands, nobody raised. Chief Nderi,

when he

took the platform, assisted Kenyatta’s

argument by saying that Aberdare was given boundaries which removed land from the Nyeri people. He too said that Africans had right to this unused land. This, spoken by a Government official, proved to all present that Africans had a truly just grievance on the land question. The other point that Jomo Kenyatta stressed during the meeting was African freedom. He raised the KAU flag to symbolize African Government. He said Kenya must be freed from colonial exploitation. Africans must be given freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of worship and freedom of press. Explaining this to the people, he said that with the exception of freedom of worship, the other freedoms are severely limited with respect to

the Africans.

Freedom

of

movement

:

many

Africans have been

prosecuted for trespass on European land or for entering a town outside his

own

district.

the D.G. at Nanyuki, in

I

personally faced a resident magistrate,

December 1949 charged under

on a European farm. Without a

fine,

he sentenced

me

trespass to three

karari’

hill

s

months imprisonment. He refused

to

my

75

paying money for the

sentence.

was struck by and green, which description of the

and when we

middle of black hour passed without any

[the flag’s] red colour in the

its

I

blood.

signified

KAU flag.

Most

An

of the time

shall officially hoist that

Kenya African freedom.

I

was pondering how

National flag to signify the

words in 1947 at a KAU rally on the same ground. ‘The freedom tree can only grow when you pour blood on it, but not water. I shall firmly hold the lion’s jaws so that it will not bite you. Will you bear its claws?” He was replied with a great applause of admittance. When Kenyatta returned on the platform for the third time, after a few other speakers, he explained the flag. He said, ‘Black is

to

show

that this

I

recalled Kenyatta’s

for black people.

is

Red

is

to

show

that the

same colour as the blood of a European, and green is to show that when we were given this country by God it was green, fertile and good but now you see the green is below the red and is suppressed.’ (Tremendous applause!) I tried to figure out his real meaning. What was meant by green being ‘suppressed’ and below the red? Special Branch agents were at the meeting recording all the speeches so Kenyatta couldn’t speak his mind directly. What he said must mean that our fertile lands (green) could only be regained by the blood (red) of the African The black was separated from the green by (black). That was it blood of an African

is

the

!

red; the African could only get to his land through blood.

and an arrow,’ he went on. ‘This means that we should remember our forefathers who used these weapons to guard this land for us. The “U” is placed over the shield and indicates that the shield will guard the Union ‘You also see on the

against

all evils

flag

a

shield, a spear

.’ .

.

This flashed to

me

a few

opening of the meeting

new

songs that were sung before the

:

Gikuyu and Mumbi, what do you think? You were robbed of your land, you didn’t Chorus

:

Kenyatta

leads,

Koinange

sell it

at the rear

and Mbiyu on the

flank

Each a good shepherd of the masses We have been demanding the return And will never give up

of African lands

MAUMAUFROM WITHIN

76

Dedan Mugo,

was deported because of his remembered Dedan Mugo to

friend of the Blacks,

struggle for the Africans ...

(I

Mau Mau

having been convicted for administering a

Kiambu The

in April I950-)

other song

My

oath in

people,

I

remembered

we have

said

to think

:

whether or not

this

land of ours

Left to us long ago by Iregi, will ever be returned

Chorus

God And

:

blessed this land of ours, said

we Kikuyu

we should never abandon

it

My people,

Waiyaki died leaving us this curse ‘Never sell or give up this land of ours,' and See how freely we have given it up

:

!

Those of you who have been arrested and detained or imprisoned In your struggle for freedom, don’t despair Give up your tears and sorrows, for God will help you !

The Europeans are but guests and they will leave this land of ours Where then will you, the traitors, go when the Kikuyu rise up ? ‘Yes, this

is

a

call for the return

‘and what about freedom

Jomo

and defence

of land,’

I

thought,

.’ .

.

appealled to unity, saying

if

we

united completely to-

morrow, our independence would come tomorrow. The four freedoms spoken of by Kenyatta could be practiced under the colonial rule. But for sure he did not mean this when he raised the KAU flag. He meant African self-government, which is often termed as freedom by the Africans. Most of the people are still illiterate or with very little education and cannot figure out by themselves the sort

of self-government

we

all

want. All the old people always

had prior to the coming of and they go on teaching the young ones that the the European past would become our future freedom, while many ignorant young think of freedom as the old lives they

—

people interpret the freedom as casting

down

all

the present laws

with a replacement of liberty to do what he personally wishes. trouble

is

that the leaders

to construe to the is

longing I also

up

to this present

moment have

The

failed

minds of the public the self-government Kenya

for.

noted that the meeting did not want to

listen to

anything

KARARI’S HILL

77

Mau Mau. When

Ebrahim, the African Assistant District Officer, asked Jomo Kenyatta in the meeting what he was going to do to stop Mau Mau, he was forced to sit down by discouraging barracking [jeering]. The same thing happened to chief Nderi when

about

he referred to ‘night activities’. When Kenyatta returned to the platform, he talked about the African

education,

saying that

it

was

to the

people

at a very

low

and maintaining that the Government should develop it in a way they were not doing. He also said that European children were getting eight times more money than the African children from the Government agencies. The Africans did not realize how much money the European community pays in tax and felt that their own money paid in Poll Taxes went to educate European children, while at the same time, Government is hindering African educalevel

tion with

its

Beecher Report.

As a teacher, I understood what was meant by Beecher’s Ten Year Plan and also understood the parents’ thoughts. The plan would result in most students having to leave the school after Standard 4, and gave no chance for further education except for a very small percentage. The elementary schools were so many compared to the top primaries that the vast majority of students would be forced to leave school after only four years of education. This,

it

was felt, was very detrimental to African children. Beecher’s Ten Year Plan suggested that out of every 100 who entered school, 75% would have to leave after four years of education. Of those that continued, 75% would have to quit after two more years of education. This meant that less than 10% of all children who entered school each year would get a chance to sit for the Kenya African Preliminary Examination, the lowest exam for which Government issues a certificate. The Beecher Report was thus very detrimental to African education. Most Africans thought that the intention of the plan was to get these African children to go to work on the settlers’ coffee or pyrethrum plantations after four or so years of

amount of bitterness toward Rev. make it worse, the man was a mis-

schooling. This created a certain

Beecher and

his

plan and to

sionary whose ideas were already rejected by the Kisa [Kikuyu

Independent Schools Association] due

to

their earlier difficulties

with the missions. Beecher, being the leader of the East African churches, was schools

under

felt to

his

be once again trying to bring the independent

control.

Government supported the Beecher

M A U MAU FROM WITHIN

78

Report and passed legislation in 1951 to the effect that it would be experimented with over a ten year period. This demonstrated particularly those Kikuyu attached to Kisa or to the African

—

KKES

—

[Kikuyu Karing’a Education Society] that the whole aim of the Government and the missionaries was to bring the independent schools once again under the control of the missionaries. At the same time, the plan would prevent the spread of education

and guarantee an ever growing amount

of

cheap labour for the

settlers.

The

fourth point that

wages. He

Jomo Kenyatta

talked of was the African

Europeans were using the Africans as cheap labourers, as tools who were not really to be considered human beings. Treatment was bad on the European farms and they were given extremely low wages, poor houses, no education and couldn’t even clothe themselves. When he talked of the skilled labourers, he said that the Africans who did exactly the same job as a Eurosaid that

pean or an Asian would get less than a fifth of their wage. He demanded that colour-bar be abolished, since it existed everywhere in public services and operated to oppress the African. This being very true, there could be no argument or hesitation from the crowd in

accepting

it.

baking into account the

five points

covered by

Jomo Kenyatta,

wages and colour-bar, all of them discriminated the African on a racial basis and rested on nothng but the white man’s selfishness. People felt that the white community was extremely selfish, completely disregarding the African, and hindering the Africans. They didn’t want the African to rise in standard all they wanted was to retain a cheap source of labour. Though the speakers at the meeting were supposed to denounce the evil secret society which was spreading rapidly through Kikuyuland and had earned for itself the unheard-of name, Mau Mau, the latter organization was given considerable publicity because most of the organizers of the meeting were Mau Mau leaders and most of the crowd, Mau Mau members. They were given the opportunity to circulate Mau Mau propaganda songs when both coming and leaving the meeting. As I was pushing my bicycle uphill toward Muthuaini School where I was teaching, I enjoyed many Mau Mau songs which were sung by the crowd as they left the meeting. Here are a few verses from different songs i.e.,

land, freedom, education,

;

:

K ARARI

’

HILL

S

79

you are asked What? And you What? Whether you are of Gikuyu? I will raise both my hands and say If

:

am

‘I

of Gikuyu’

The white community

are foreigners

This land they must quit

And where will you go, their sympathizers When all the Kikuyu will gather? Chorus

:

This land of ours Kikuyu

God blessed it for us And he said we will never

The House

We

of

Mumbi, we

are very

want our children

Now when [Another]

it

many

are in every place

The time is flying and never Our cry is for education

We

leave

there

is

retreats

to learn

time

song was Marari

—a

warriors

song instigating the

singers to fight.

Gikuyu and Mumbi was referring to a new society and not to the Kikuyu tribe which we community or Uiguano wa Gikuyu na all belonged. Muingi Mumbi Kikuyu and Mumbi Unity, were other terms that repre-

From

the songs, one could learn that #

,

,

sented the ful,

name

of the

thata cia bururi

,

new

society, while terms like thaka, beauti-

the country’s barren persons,

or informer, were used to refer to either opposers or

t

hut hi, weevil

non-members

of the society.

had learnt from the newspapers that Mau Mau was a society that had taken an oath that they will expel the white community from this country and acquire the African freedom. I remembered that whenever Mau Mau was mentioned in the meeting the mob made a lot of noise that nothing more could be heard of the speaker. I very much admired KAU’s aims. This was the first rally I’d been since 1947 and up to this point in my life I hadn’t I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

8o

been active or even terribly interested in Kenya politics. Now, however, a political awareness and excitement was sweeping the land which no one could ignore.

KAU

but was unable to

Mau Mau, these

new

possibly

make

as I could see

I

made up my mind

out a clear cut between

KAU

members very much

to join

KAU

and

interested in

songs which indirectly referred to another society which

Mau Mau but nevertheless I had learnt from that Mau Mau members had taken oath that they

would be

the newspapers

must expel the white community out of Kenya and acquire African freedom. They were both good and welcomed by the Kikuyu. I would definitely join them. Raising my eyes to the western horizon

I

could see Karari’s Hill,

middle of the Aberdare Forest,

my

grandfather’s land, in the

under Forest Reserve and controlled by the Government. I thought of my past life. It seemed to fall into three phases. The first found me as a young boy living on a Boer’s farm on the White Highlands. The second phase involving my schooling and periods of teaching. The third was the period in which I attempted to venture the world as a businessman. still

CHAPTER

III

SQUATTER’S CHILD

A Like

thousands of other Kikuyu children, Karari was born of squatter parents on a European farm in the White Highlands. His family had lost the better part of its land in 1910, when it

was alienated and included within the Forest Reserve. Driven by the same shortage of land which moved so many others, Karari’s father migrated to the Rift Valley to become a squatter-laborer for a Boer settler. In contrast to what it would be like in later years, the squatter’s life during this early period was not intolerable. For the European, land was plentiful and labor in short supply,

despite

the

various

labor-getting

being

techniques

Government. The squatter could at least cultivate as much of the settler’s unused land as he could manage and pasture his own herds of sheep, goats and catde. Notwithstanding the tragic loss of his mother and three sisters and the absence of any opportunity for formal education, Karari views his childhood on the Boer farm as a relatively ‘good

employed by the

time’.

By

the

settler

mid-i93o’s,

however, the factors discussed in

had established the Kikuyu as a labor-exporting peasantry and the steady flow of cheap African labor into the White Highlands was beginning to catch up with the seemingly insatiable settler demand. This, plus the partial mechanization Chapter

of

settler

I

agriculture

to

new

nevertheless,

remained

labor-

and the fact that more land crops and pasture by the Europeans, yielded

intensive), the influx of

was being put

(which,

settlers

steadily deteriorating conditions for the African squatter.

The

introduced in 1936, limiting the squatter to one acre per wife, fifteen sheep or goats and no cattle, marked the turning point in this process. For Karari, it marked also the

restrictive regulations

first

flickering of bitterness

toward the white

man and

his first

man’s laws. The dialogue which Karari recalls so vividly between himself and his grandfather, after he and his family had returned to the Reserve, reveals in dramatic form the fundamental grievance significant insight into the injustice of the white

81

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

82

Kikuyu people toward the ruling European minority. The white man had been received in Kikuyuland as a guest and was well treated. He soon turned on his hosts, however, and conquered them with his superior weapons. With his power, and the fact that might was over right, the European helped himself to the best Kikuyu land and reduced the Kikuyu people to a degrading form of political servitude. Lord Lugard’s and

attitude of the

diaries provide convincing affirmation of the basic truth con-

tained in this

was

Kikuyu

attitude.

1

bom

on 18 September 1926 in the Laikipia District of the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was on the farm of a Boer settler located about 12 miles east of the town of Thomson’s Falls. I was the first born of Njama Karari and Wanjiru Wamioro. My father and grandfather belonged to the Amboi clan which was famous for its bravery, and my mother belonged to the Anjiru clan which was well known for its practice and knowledge of witchcraft. When still very young, I realized that my father worked as a cook for M. P. Daniel, the owner of the farm. He was a big fat man so huge that he could be thought of as abnormal. I have never seen in my life any other person as fat as Mr. Daniel and I

—

his wife.

My

father

had a

large herd of livestock at this time, consisting

head of sheep and goats plus a number of cattle which were taken care of along with the European’s large herd. In addition, he had a large flock of Rhode Island Reds from which we obtained a good many eggs. When I was about six years old, I was given the job of looking after my father’s 600 sheep and goats. I would lead them down to the forest river to drink and occasionally had to fight off large herds of wolves. There were many wild animals which prayed on our herds, such as wolves and leopards, and it was my task to keep them away. Out of this herd, a sheep or goat would die almost daily and we always had plenty of meat to eat. My mother used to boil a lot of eggs from our poultry and I would take as many as two dozen of these with me to eat during the day while of 600

Lugard, Lord (Ed. by M. Perham), Diaries of Lord Lugard, Vol. Pp. 313, passim. Northwestern University Press, 1959. 1

/.

a

squatter’s child

83

Sometimes, when playing with the other boys, I used these eggs like rocks, throwing them at my playmates. When I returned home from the pasture in the evening, I played herding the animals.

with the Boer’s

dam

many

children.

We

swimming

often went

in the

or into the forest to shoot birds with our slingshots or simply

played and fought in the

fields.

was always someone

The European had

12 children

Other African squatter children spent time with me during the day while grazing or mornso there

ing and evening times

farm’s dairy,

to play with.

when they came

skimmed milk at the which was near our hut and [for] which my father was for

responsible.

As

my

himself

father had such large herds, which he could not look after

—being

thought

it

in

the big house with cooking

and cleaning

wise to marry a second wife in 1932.

By

this

— he

time

my

mother had given birth to three more children, all of them girls. Not long after my father became a polygamist, my mother and the three sisters suddenly fell ill and died. I don’t know for sure what caused their death, but according to what people said, they were victims of witchcraft which means they died of quick-acting

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

84

poison which the witchdoctors used to

make

sure that their curses

worked.

was a sad time in my life. A great ceremonial service was held and we who remained were cleansed so as to protect us from the evil curse which killed my mother and the three sisters. My father’s second wife took me as her own son and an official adopIt

tion

ceremony was

The owner

held. Thereafter,

I

lived in

my

father’s hut.

farm planted wheat and kept large herds of cattle. He at first used ploughs drawn by bullocks to cultivate his fields; later, when these originally poor Boers began to make a good profit from their crops, they replaced their bullocks with tractors and bought harvester machines. My father started with Mr. Daniel as a farm labourer, driving a team of bullocks over the fields behind his plough. His employer worked in the fields at the same time and did the same job. There was not much difference between them as farmers. Only later, when African labour began to be replaced with machines, and European farmers like Mr. Daniel became rich men, that people like my father began to of the

suffer.

Government passed a law to the effect that no African was to own cattle in the White Highlands in 1936. My father had to herd his cattle into Nyeri Reserve and sell them at a low price. Shortly after he returned, he was faced with another Government order forbidding African labourers to keep more than 30 sheep or goats. This figure was reduced to 15 almost immediately. Land, too, was reduced. Previously a man could cultivate as much land as he and his family could manage with their labour now each labourer was ;

allowed only one acre per wife.

My

father,

angered by these

restrictive regulations,

decided to

take his large herd of sheep and goats into the Nyeri District. In

June 1937 we packed

many

donkeys.

carried by an

all

our belongings and loaded them onto our

Wambui, my

ass.

My

little

step-sister

aged two, was also

step-mother carried Warau,

my

other step-

months. With the help of another relative, we drove the large herd of sheep goats and some donkeys covering over 70 sister

aged

six

miles in three days.

Our

Getuiga Sub-location,

in

Kagumo-ini village of Mahiga Location and in the Othaya

destination

was

at

Division.

For the

rest of the

year

my

father was kept busy selling his live-

squatter’s child

a stock.

He

charged

40s.,

makumi mana,

for

85

each

billy

goat and,

was given the nickname Wamana which means ‘of forty’ in Kikuyu. My father, a medium person in size, stood only five six high. His grey eyes on brown face bordered by long beard made him to look like a Sikh rather than a Kikuyu. He always smoked a pipe which he filled with native tobacco. He spoke very rarely to people and was clever in managbecause

he

never

varied

his

price,

,

ing his business. I

was almost

1

years old

1

when we

left

Laikipia.

My

life

there

had been pleasant and I had many friends. I ate well, worked with the animals and played and my step-mother treated me as her own child. Life was good though there was no opportunity for education. I had been born and raised in the Rift Valley and didn’t like the idea of leaving. My resentment turned to the European farmer whose regulations about livestock and land cultivation caused my father to move.

Our new home was

situated on

my

grandfather’s land,

less

than

hundred yards from the fringe of the Aberdare Forest. My grandmother had died long ago when my father was still a young boy. My grandfather, who was at this time over 90 (he died in 1943 when his hut caught on fire while he slept), had three sons and four daughters of which my father was the third born and second son. He was a very brave man and had a big spear, much longer and wider than the normal Kikuyu spear, which he called kiembo. My grandfather, because he always kept this huge spear with him, was nicknamed Kiembo. He was a big hunter and owned big land in the forests where he used to hunt. One day I was sitting down on our homestead lawn with my grandfather warming ourselves by the heat of the sun when my grandfather pointed to a small hill in the middle of the forest just above the juncture of the Gura ‘My grandson, River and the Charangatha River and asked me do you see that hill?’ ‘Yes, grandfather,’ I replied. ‘That is where the European. I used to hunt before the arrival of the Chomba That hill is still called Karari’s Hill. If you went there, you could see my cooking pots in my cave. I have many beehives on that hill which would yield a lot of honey. But you see, none of my sons is interested in hunting or honey collecting. I am now old and canMy beloved beehives will rot there. I wish I not go there. Oh were younger.’ three

:

—

!

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

86

‘Why don't you tell my father to go and build on your hill so that we could collect honey nearer home?’ ‘Oh no, my grandson.

Do you

gum

on a line at the edge of the forest?’ he asked me, pointing to some Eucalyptus trees. ‘Yes grandfather.’ ‘Those trees were planted by your great uncle, my elder son, on his third year after his circumcision. They mark the boundary between the Native Reserve and the Forest Reserve which is under Government control. All the land west of those trees was alienated by Government in 1910. By that time we had a lot of millet growing where you see those blue gum trees growing inside the forest. Today we are forbidden to collect firewood from that forest which was ours; we are not allowed to cut even strings for tying together wood when building a hut. Do you see that small hut under the tree?’ ‘Yes, grandfather.’ ‘That is the Forest Guards’ hut. It is built on my step-brother’s land, Gateru. The boundary went through his land leaving him with only a small portion. Today if the Forest Guards catch a person with any forest property, he would be accused and be fined or imprisoned. We buy or work for firewood and all building materials from our former lands which the European has not planted or taken care of. see those big blue

‘My grandson, power. There are

there

is

trees

nothing as bad on

many Kikuyu

this

earth as lack of

sayings which prove this

:

“Mundu

arundagwo uriri-ini wa muka (meaning, “A weak person would be knocked down on his wife’s bed”) and “Itari hinya kanyuaga munju ” (“A weak animal would always drink muddy water after the strong ones have quenched their thirst”). Haaa!’ he murmured and cracked his tongue in his ‘Hee mouth. He went on shaking his head to show his disagreement. ‘I am annoyed with the Chomha (Europeans) for selling to me my own forest yield!’ He meant what he said; I saw him shedding tears. I became terribly excited and had an ill-feeling against the white man. We both paused for two minutes or so. ‘The first European to come on this ridge,’ he continued, ‘found your great uncle and your father grazing in the Kigumo Forest before he met any other person here. He held green grass high over his utari hinya

!

head showing sign of peace so that he would not be killed. They brought him home. When my villagers heard of a white man whom they had never seen before, very many came to my home to see him. Some warriors wanted to kill him. I preserved his life. He lived with us for ten days.

He

ate

raw maize, sweet

potatoes, arrow

squatter’s child

a and drank our him brought magic

gruel.

roots

fires.

people at great distances

man’s arrow and spear I

20

He

left in

They

times

peace. Those their

fired

—three

87

who came

magic and

killed

after

our

times the distance covered by a

the

distance

by a man’s

covered

.’ .

.

stood and pulled out his kiembo, threw

know how

far a

man

could throw a spear.

I

eagerly wanting to

it

managed

to

throw the

My

spear 25 feet only. grandfather told me that a warrior could throw a spear five or six times the distance I had thrown.

‘There was a great fight on the next ridge that

is

in

North Tetu

where Gakere son/of Nyingi, a great warrior, fought the white man. He was shot dead together with many of his warriors and those who escaped were chased into Nyandarua (the Aberdares). I regretted that the white man whom I saved his life went and called his brothers who came with magic fires that conquered our people. Oh He was a spy. We found that we couldn’t fight against the white man who was killing us with his magic fires and so he started ruling us and took away most of the best fertile lands. Have you forgotten the big lands you were seeeing at Laikipia full of wheat and thousands of herds of cattle and sheep and all owned by Europeans?’ ‘Oh, no grandfather, that was a beautiful place to live. I used to eat meat every day, had plenty of milk that was enough to bathe in if I wanted, ate bread and butter, played with the European’s children-friends of mine and I have never got any of those !

!

things here since ‘Yes,

my

I

came about a month

grandson,

populated and there grazing and that

caused

many

is

life is is

very

ago.’

difficult here.

The

land

is

densely

neither sufficient land for cultivation nor

why you

don’t have milk.

people to leave

this

The same

place and

seek

reason has

employment

Area where you were living. See the boundaries of the land I now own?’ Pointing to a muiri tree, he showed me his land, 12 acres after survey, that was to be shared equally among his three sons. He told me that he had a share of another land about two miles east which was referred to as clan land and has never been shared to individuals. My father bought four additional acres. At this point a group of elders came and interrupted our talk. in the Settled

CHAPTER

IV

THE MIRACLE OF READING Karari’s

formal education began at the age of twelve; a late start, but not exceptionally so among African children of those days. The sense of urgency and dedication which he brought to the task of schooling was, and still is, characteristic of African

The white man’s power,

youth.

superior technical

weapons but skills.

To

its

was

felt,

lay not only in his

also in his ‘knowledge’

—

his

books and

a young Kikuyu in Karari’s position, that

book-power seemed necessary poverty with

it

if

he were to escape a

life

of rural

attendant misery and degradation.

In the face of increasing land hunger, education thus offered

thousands of Kikuyu youth their best, if not only, alternative to joining the swelling ranks of the landless migrant worker. It also held out a promise to the successful of better paying, higher

and an opportunity to fulfill family obligations and acquire at least some of the desired material goods of the dominant European minority. Only a handful could make it, however,

status jobs

with only three small high schools serving the needs of over five million Africans. Karari was among the fortunate in this regard,

though financial finally forced

him

difficulties

following the death of his father

to leave Alliance

High School

after

completing

only two years.

These two years were nevertheless very significant in shaping Karari’s outlook, for it was at the high school that he began seriously to question some of the white man’s ideas and teachings which he had earlier accepted uncritically. His experiences at school, and especially within the Kikuyu student associations, made him aware of the glaring contradiction between the Europeans’ preaching and practice of Christianity, and of the distorted version of Kenya History presented in his classes, where no mention was made of land alienation. The message of his grandfather was rekindled, as was the wisdom of an old Kikuyu ‘Between a settler and a missionary, there is no difsaying :

ference.’

88

THE MIRACLE OF READING

89

But Karari was now caught on the horns of a dilemma which, at one time or another, confronted most educated or semieducated Africans within this white-controlled social system. He had reached a position between two cultural worlds, one to which he could not return and another which he was not allowed to enter; and toward neither of these ‘worlds’ could he ever again be totally and unquestioningly committed. Though possessed of a new-found Kikuyu national pride and identity, he had already learned and changed too much even to contemplate a return to the old rural life and traditional beliefs. Again, though he now saw through the white man’s deceptive teachings and religious hypocrisy, gaining an awareness of the links between Government, missionary and settler, he had learned to appreciate the advantages of European technology, which promised a higher standard of living for both himself and his people. Symptomatic of this cultural ambivalence are Karari’s wavering religious views and his mixed attitudes toward the KISA school where he was employed as a teacher after leaving the high school.

When my

had no work to do and it was decided that I should start school. I was 12 years old and started at Munyange School not far from our home. This school was managed by the Kikuyu Independent Schools Association. During my first year at school I did very well. I covered two years work in one year. The teachers liked me and offered me a job as their cook. In this way, instead of paying school fees, I worked as a cook’s boy. This also gave me an opportunity to read all the father

had

sold all his animals,

I

teachers’ books.

Before

I

learnt

how

to read

and

write,

I

thought that reading

was a great miracle in which a person could repeat exactly the words said by another at a distant place, recording his words on a white sheet of paper. I very much admired reading. One day, on my wav from school, I collected a piece of printed paper on the road and ate it so that I may have that knowledge of reading within me. I earnestly prayed God to give me the knowledge of reading.

In the evenings

I

never went out to play with other boys.

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

90 light of fire.

My

We

my

Kikuyu primer by the had a hurricane lamp but had no paraffin oil.

always remained at

home

industriousness urged

reading

my

first

father to supply

me

with paraffin

oil regularly.

In

my

third year,

liked

me.

When

was made a monitor by the teachers. I attended classes in the morning and taught the lower classes in the afternoon. At this time many adults were in school as students and I was often afraid of disciplining or punishing these people much older than myself. I treated them well, however, and they to

them.

I

I

the senior boys spoke English,

I

carefully listened

could not understand well what they were saying but

I

wanted to participate in their talks so I often mixed my English with Dutch words which I had learnt from the Boer’s children while playing. They often laughed at me and called me Kaburu, the Dutchman. This forced me to learn English. In a short time I was challenging every student in the whole school in English, proving that I could speak good English not mixed with Dutch words.

During the third term in 1940, the school Headmaster came to Standard 2, which was my class, and asked Kiige Mbai and me to stand up. He told the class that we were clever boys and that both of us would go to Kagere School early next day where we would sit for a competitive examination with the Standard 3. He said that if we passed, we would sit for the Common Entrance Examination by the end of the year. He asked us to take our books and go into Standard 3 to do a mathematics test which he prepared. When he announced the results in the afternoon, I was second in the class of 35 pupils, some of whom were two or three years in the same class and which I have never been in. That night I was very happy for my success. I remembered the printed paper I had eaten. I considered that to be foolish, but I prayed God to help me to pass my exam. That night I revised my mathamatics tables and formulas. The next morning I made a long run covering seven miles to Kagere School. The test was composed of arithmatic only both speed test and problems. The results were

—

—

out in the afternoon. Only eight boys out of 35

Munyange

pupils

was one of the eight. The Kikuyu Independent Schools Association Supervisor, Mr. Hudson Mwangi, who had set the test said that he wanted all those who passed his test to meet him at Mung’oria School in Aguthi Location some 15 miles away from passed.

I

THE MIRACLE OF READING

91

home where he would prepare all KISA students in Nyeri District for a month before they sit for the Common Entrance Examination. On our arrival at Mung’oria School, we were distributed to different homes where we were to eat and sleep after school hours. One of the things that struck me was that the villagers, though Kikuyu, had a peculiar dialect and made a great many grammar Kikuyu. These people grew yams, cassavas and bananas, which do not grow in our cold region. Nevertheless, after a month study I sat for the Common Entrance Examination. A month passed while I anxiously awaited for the results. At last the results were out; three boys had passed from our school. Though mistakes

in

had done very well in both arithmatic and Swahili, I had failed in the General Knowledge paper. Then the whole year 1941 I studied for the Common Entrance Examination, which I passed in the first division and was admitted to the Government African School, Kagumo, in the Nyeri District, together with Isaac King’ori. Only both of us passed the exam from a class of 45 in Munyange School. This was the only Government school in the whole of Central Province. The other schools were either run by the missionaries or one of the two Kikuyu independent schools I

associations.

On my

new

was first directed to the principal’s office for registration and paying of school fees. I paid 45s. per year. The school rule was 5s. increment every year to the newcomers. The Principal told me that my school number was 695 and that I was to go to Standard 4A. Every door had its name written on. I was then led by one of the old boys to the school’s store. I was issued with two pairs of khaki uniform, two pairs of underwear, two blankets, a plate, a spoon and a metal cup. I was led to one of the dozen dormitories of which only nine were used arrival at this

school,

I

at that time for sleeping,

each holding 30 boys. Entering the dorbed metal framework with three pieces of

—

was shown my timber to sleep on and no mattress. In some rude manners of beating, piercing and abusive words, I was asked to put my blankets and clothes on my bed, take my utensils and follow a group of old boys. They took me to one of the two school kitchens which I dropped my utensils in the washing place. They showed me one of the two dining halls where I would be taking my meals amongst mitory

I

135 boys. I

was glad

to

meet four old friends who had passed from

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

92

Munyange

They

School.

me round

took

me

the school showing

the bathrooms, latrines, workshop, dispensary, teachers’ quarters,

some Native cattle, some practical work on

school playground and school farm pens where pigs,

donkeys and poultry were kept for

agricultural lessons.

we had to run in order to avoid punishment for being late. Soon we were all standing by the wooden tables in the dining hall. One senior boy The dinner

whom sat

I

bell rang.

learnt that he

down on

One

of the old boys said that

was a prefect

said prayers for food.

eating one of

He

all

forms, each took a spoon and the nearest plate which

had maize and beans and some potatoes rules.

We

my

friends told

pointed out to a

me

list

fried together.

that the school

As we were

had very many

of rules that governed the dining

There [were] duties rosters in every dormitory and in every classroom and games were compulsory. Every room had a list of its rules. Obedience, manners, punctuality, activities and cleanliness were very much observed to the standard the Government wanted the school discipline to be. The punishments for the infringement of the rules ranged from manual work through beatings by the teachers or major punishments some canes on the buttocks under the Principal’s supervision or the highest punishment of being expelled from the school. After eating we left the utensils on the tables for cooks to wash. Four pupils were selected every day hall.

—

according to the dormitory rosters to help the cooks to peel pota-

and bananas and to wash the utensils. It was now twilight and the dormitory lamps were set alight. One lamp was sufficient to illuminate the whole dormitory with the help of white- washed walls reflection; a kind of lamp I had toes

—

never seen before, pressure lamp. Groups of old boys held gossips. I could hear some give account of their holidays but their whole

enjoyment laid on disturbing and causing pain to the newcomers, while a few of them wanted to train the newcomers in the required school discipline. It was a bad night for me as a newcomer but I was glad the bell was rung at nine ... It indicated lights off, everybody in his blankets and no more talking. Soon the teachers on duty came round checking whether all the pupils were in bed. I had no box [spring]. I made my clothes to be my pillow on the three pieces of timber, folded

my

blankets together so that

on and covered myself by both. As rules and its beautiful stone buildings,

I

I

slept

was pondering the school

I fell asleep.

—a THE MIRACLE OF READING

93

was awakened at six in the morning by a bell. The daily routine had commenced. This bell meant fold the blankets, bathe and dress. Everyone was required at the playground for Physical Training at 7. At 7:15 the kitchen bell rang for breakfast mug of thin porridge made of maize flour. At 7 145 the school bell rang. All the 270 pupils went into the big assembly hall for their morning prayers. The staff and the Principal sat in front of us on the raised platform. The Principal welcomed the newcomers, read a few school rules and warned us that the school aimed very high at obedience, good manners, punctuality, activities and cleanliness. He said that he preferred to expel pupils from school rather than giving punishment. He then asked us to be aware of every school rule and with that we dispersed into classes. My class was Std. 4A. I was issued with exercise note-books for every subject, a pen holder and two pencils, and a number of text books most of which were written in Swahili. Now, though all the pupils are Kikuyu, Swahili would become the school language, both in class and outside. Now my three years curriculum has started of which I expect to have a certificate at the completion. In my second year at school, 1943, the whole country was attacked by famine. The rations were reduced and sorghum and cassava flour, which I had never eaten before, were brought in nasty, sticky food. The situation became worse that the whole school had to go round in the garden collecting wild edible vegetables of the nettle family and togotia. Each pupil had to take to the cook a bowl of these vegetables before he could eat his meal. For two days we ate only these vegetables mixed with bananas from the school farm. Some pupils who couldn’t bear this hunger ran away from the school. By the end of the year, my father caught a disease which caused his stomach to swell up and fill with a clear liquid. During my holidays I took him to Nyeri General Hospital. The doctor removed from his stomach three basins full of clear liquid. Due to lack of accommodation in the hospital, my father was ordered to go home and report at the hospital once a week. Nobody in my I

—

location

owned a

the hospital.

On

23

vehicle that could carry

He had

March

to rely

on the

my

father 18 miles to

local untrained doctors.

1944, at lunch time, I received the most shocking

news that my father had died the day before. I couldn’t quickly went to the teacher on duty and asked him to give

eat,

me

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

94

permission to go home.

refused.

and the other three were

father

thing, plus I

He

my

love for

my

As

little

father, created a necessity of

home without

ignored the school rules and went

home

arrived

Wamwere

in

was the only son of my girls who couldn’t do any I

the evening

and found that

my

Karari, had already buried

I

going.

permission.

my

father.

my

I

great uncle,

couldn’t help

There was my step-mother and her three daughters; they would now depend on me for their living. No one told me where my father kept his money my great uncle and step-mother each accusing the other of being trusted to the money and I knew very well that he had a lot of money. Forty shillings was all the money that could be seen from his wallet. I asked for my father’s will. I was told that since he had only one son there was no question of sharing his property. All he said was that [I was] to continue with [my] education. This being spoken by a deceased person had become a curse upon me. I had to continue. How? With only 40s.? I recorded all the debts my step-mother could remember of which were only a few sheep and goats. Now, being full of sorrow, anger and being helpless, I returned to school, arriving just a few minutes before the supper bell was rung. The prefect on duty went to report of my arrival at school after being absent for one and a half days. The teacher called me to his house and after interrogating me, he told me that he would myself from shedding tears.

I

had become an orphan

—

take

me

worried

—

to the Principal next morning.

about

child.

the

Principal’s

I

spent a sleepless night,

punishment.

I

now

had only seven

months left to sit for my last exam after completing three years. What would happen of my future if I were to be expelled from the school without a certificate?

through the night but

I

could

The problem remained unsolved see many chances of my being

employed in the British Colonial Forces that were fighting in the Second World War. This being the only alternative, I had to wait until the last minute.

The

next day

I

presented

my

case to the Principal.

He

believed

had sufficient reasons for going home but he maintained that I had disobeyed the teacher on duty. So he asked the teacher to show me some manual work to do. He took me to the farm yard. Pointing to a compost pit 60' x 4' x 2', which had a 3-foot heap above the ground level all full of remains of maize stalks, that

I

napier grass

stalks,

cattle

dung mixed with other

rubbish,

he

THE MIRACLE OF READING ordered

me

to

empty

all

that into the next pit of the

95

same measure-

bottom of the next pit. He told me that I could not attend the class before I completed my work. Three and a half days I worked on that dirty, stinking pit, with various types of maggots climbing on my feet and swarms of flies

ment

so that the top goes to the

disturbing

my

eyes.

When

returned to the class after completing

I

my

punishment I just sat for the term examination. This time I didn’t do well. I was number 17 in the class of 32. When we closed the school again in August for the second-term holiday, I thought it was time for me to undergo the circumcision ceremony by which members of my tribe would recognize me as a full grown man. Being a Christian, I asked some church elders to come and manage my feast on behalf of my deceased father. The 40s. my father left were enough for we had plenty of food in stores and again all the village women as a rule would bring ready food to be served to visitors. Some Christian children used to go to hospitals for circumcision. As this was not witnessed by many people, it created doubts whether they were really circumcised. I thought of removing such doubts and decided to be circumcised in the public’s presence.

On

17

August 1944 at 6 a.m.

Gura River and bathed in that Hundreds of people, men, women and to the

I

went down

cold, almost freezing, water.

watched me being circumcised. As all other boys and girls had been circumcised a week before we closed the school, I was the only one remaining. With many cheers for my bravery, I returned home escorted by men and dancing women. Women danced wildly until midday. For a month I

I

was

children,

to be fed with the best food available so that

could become strong.

The

last billy

goat which

my

father

left

and which was fattened in my step-mother’s hut was killed for me. The whole month was eat and play with other circumcised youths. I was very fat and strong when I returned to school. The third term seemed that we had completed the school’s syllabus and that we were engaged in general revision and frequent tests. At last the examination started on 21 November, and lasted for the whole week. For another week before leaving the school we were engaged in manual work cleaning the school compound. For three years I had been taught how to read and write in both English and Swahili, do some calculation in arithmetic, little geography, Nature Study and Hygiene, plenty of agriculture, both theory and practical, History and Civics, Carpentry and some

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

96

backgrounds on religions. By Christianity faith and dogmas and by criticising our forefathers’ ways and attitudes of praying God, and by the manners we were taught of civilized people, we were very much humiliated. In History we had been taught all the good the

man had

white

brought us

— the

stopping

of

tribal

wars,

and their property, good clothings, education and religion, easy ways of communication and travel by road, railway and air and the oceans, hygiene and better medication and, finally, better jobs that would make it easy to raise the standard of living above the uneducated Africans. We were taught to honour the Union Jack, our King (the King of England and Great Britain) and our local administrators, mostly Europeans. In teaching Kenya History, the question of land was cunningly omitted. It would only be referred to as the country’s backbone of economy as Kenya was an agricultural country and the white settlers as being the only people with the required knowledge of farming that kept the country’s economy alive. I then left the school thinking of the white men as good people with whom to live, from whom a better world would be created for the Africans and having no knowledge of the relationship among the missionaries, Government servants and the white settlers. I spent Christmas time at Thomson’s Falls with my uncle, King’ori Karari, on a Boer’s farm J. B. Odendaal, who had been his employer since the day I was born. He promised me that he would help me to meet half of the school fee if I passed but beyond that would only be a mere trial. Knowing that I hadn’t well laid guaranteeing

security

to

individuals

—

plans of obtaining

my

school fee,

I

went home.

I

wrote a

letter to

the Chairman, African District Council of Nyeri (then called the Local Native Council) asking his council to pay for my fee if I passed. I took the letter to my chief who stamped it for his

approval and gave

my

principal a copy.

Soon the results were out. I had passed the examination and was admitted to the Alliance High School, Kikuyu. I had to pay 60s. per year, plus a 10s. deposit which would pay for any school equipment in case I lost it, while my Local Native Council had agreed to pay the balance of 140s. per year for me. I had no cash with me. It was too late for me to send a letter to my uncle, Simeon King’ori, who had promised me some money. The other uncle,

Wamwere,

a poor and helpless person. I approached Munyange School elders on the last Sunday before the opening of the school. is

THE MIRACLE OF READING I

asked them to help

me

to get the 60s. fee plus

my

97

fare

and pocket

money. The School Committee had collected funds from the people for such purposes and two persons in the Alliance High School had their fee paid by that fund. I was instructed by the Secretary of the Committee, Jason Karimi, in the presence of the Committee that that Committee could only lend me money on the undertaking that

would employ me I

refund their

will

I

money

as a teacher until

disliked the idea for

I

I

after school or that they

paid the whole debt.

thought that

all

the persons

who had

contributed to that fund would maintain a belief that they paid

my

would serve them for a good turn. I thought it wise to go and borrow money from a single person and so told the Committee that I could do without their money. I angrily left the Committee members, thinking that it was only helping sons of members and because my father was not for

a

school fee in the hope that

member I

of

again they cared

it

walked straight

I

little

of helping me.

home

Njigori Village to the

to

of

Kanyi

Kanumbi, a great friend of my father. I had given this man a nanny goat to herd for me. That nanny goat was my New Year’s gift for

1938 for being a good herdsboy which also indicated the

termination of

man was two

my

days before

goat had produced

The

herdsboyship.

many

my

last

circumcision

time

had

I

when

I

visited the

found that

my

and that they were numbering 12 in all. I had taken five of them with me which I gave my uncle King’ori Wamioro so that he would bless me and issue permission others

my circumcision. On my arrival at Njigori, I met Kanyi grazing his herd near his home. I told him all my difficulties. I had only three days before for

the opening of the school I

could

was

sell

some

all right,

of

though

my I

and

I

had no money.

I

goats for the purpose.

asked him whether

He

told

would expect a very low price

me

that

it

for being in

had then nine animals left. They all looked healthy and beautiful, resembling their mother with very many small black and white spots with its grey neck with dark brown spots. While we were arranging and selecting which animals to take to the market the next dav, Nathaniel Kihara Thatu arrived. He decided to buy one of the nanny goats which did not resemble its mother. He cashed me 16s. I took that to be the average price. I had to such a hurry.

I

take five animals to the market.

I

asked Kanyi to choose for him-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

98

one nanny goat as

self

happily accepted.

On my

I

gift

then started

arrival at

friend of mine,

his

home,

Emmanuel

I

for herding

my journey

met two

my

home.

letters.

One was from

a great

Ndiritu Theuri, by that time serving as

a driver and signal and wireless operator in East African

Commandos his letter,

Army

that were fighting against the Japanese in India. In learnt that he

I

He

goats well.

had sent

me

100s. to help myself.

other letter was from the District Commissioner’s calling

The

me

to

from his office. When I read this I was very glad. I believed that God had sent me help at the right time. Very early next morning, instead of taking my animals to the market, I walked to Nyeri. At 10 a.m. I arrived at the District Commissioners’ office. His clerk told me that the D.C. was away and was not expected to return that day. Furthermore, according to his schedule he would pay such money on Mondays only. It was now Monday and if I waited till next Monday I would be a week late and probably my place would be filled by another person. Hungry, tired and disappointed, I slackly walked home. I walked

collect the 100s.

a long distance, passed

them

as

money

my

many

brain pondered

receipt

I

had

to

different objects without recognizing

what

to do.

I

decided to take the

the Principal of Alliance

High School,

Kikuyu, and ask him to claim the money from the D.C., Nyeri. I arrived home late in the evening and I had to say goodbye to a few friends of mine that night before I left. Next morning, I packed my clothes in a wooden box which I’d

made

were

to

Kagumo and gave it to two girl take me half-way carrying the box at

returned and

friends of to Nyeri.

mine who

The

girls

At 5 130 a.m. on Thursday morning I caught the Royal Mail Bus which carried seven miles to Nyeri Station. I paid one shilling bus fare and pocketed the balance of my 25s. At the railway station I showed the station master my concession form. He told me that I had to pay half fare, third class, which was 4 /40s. He issued me with a ticket. Soon, the big train with

I

slept at Nyeri.

many

coaches [arrived].

The

school had booked a coach. to our coach. I entered with five

showed me other pupils. I found Meru students who had spent the night in the coach. One of them was a girl. It seemed amazing to me, for I had never travelled by train before. The old boys told me that I had 125 miles to be carried by the train and a miles walk to the school. Our journey would pass through Nairobi, the capital of

The

station master

THE MIRACLE OF READING Kenya where

many

there are big shops,

people.

I

sat

many

99

stone buildings and very

near a window to enable

me

to observe the

country as the train moved.

At 7 a.m. the train puffed and the big steam engine commenced moving and the many hundred iron wheels started rolling along the railway

lines,

stopping at every station.

More

students entered our

coach. At 3 130 p.m. the train stopped at Nairobi Station.

many

I

saw

Our coach had to be changed. We would be carried by the big Mombasa-Kampala train pulled by Mengo, the biggest Kenya steam engine. Here we were joined by pupils from the Coast Province and the Ukamba District and two

trains,

half-castes. English or Swahili

Kikuyu station.

After a

language has become essential

understand one another. At 5 130 p.m. the train arrived

for us to

The Principal, Mr E. He carried many of our boxes in miles walk, we at last arrived at

Kikuyu.

my

people and buildings.

Station.

I

gave the Principal

my

met

us at the

his small car several times.

the Alliance

High School,

receipt so that he could claim

from the D.C., Nyeri. The buildings and the treatments are fee

The

school

whom

of

C. Francis

is

much

three were

smaller than girls,

from

just like those of

Kagumo.

Kagumo, holding only all

150 pupils, tribes of Kenya; taking in only

50 students every year. The second year 50 pupils sat for the Junior Secondary Examination while the fourth year 25 pupils sat

Cambridge Certificate. The school was run by the alliance of the Kenya Government with the Protestant Church missionwhich excluded the KISA and the KKES. Phis was the aries only high school in Kenya which Government had affiliated. The other two high schools were C.M.S. Maseno in Nyanza Province and Catholic Holy Ghost Mission, Mangu in Central Province, which admitted a maximum of 25 students per year who were for the

—

all

supposed to be Catholics. In

fact, for

one

to be

admitted

in

one

must have been very clever for the reason that over 4,000 pupils competed for admittance where only less

of those high schools he

than 200 could be admitted.

The

teachers were five Europeans, two Africans and an African

Carpentry instructor. T he studies were now much advanced. In Geometry were theorems to be proved together with the practical

had learned before; Algebra had become a new subject; Physics and Chemistry were taught in the big laboratory; Music and Arts were new subjects to me.

work

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

100

on the second eleven in football. Every morning and evening the teacher on duty would lead prayers in the chapel which everyone must attend including the staff. Christianity was strongly emphasized, baptism I

was engaged

in

athletics

school, playing

at

and confirmation classes were taught. Different priests from various sects were invited to preach on Sundays and give sacraments. I taught Sunday school around Alliance High School. The Christian moral taught us to be polite and peaceful citizens and completely ignored the question of discrimination by teaching that all people are equal in the eyes of God no matter what colour, race or creed. It also forbade selfishness by Christ’s quotation, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself. This being the greatest

according to Christ’s teaching, then

Government and the Christianity.

The

it

was obvious

commandment that the Kenya

did not agree with the teachings of

settlers

school was built on alienated land,

and just pyrethrum

were some settlers’ farms raising coffee, and dairy cattle which earned a lot of cash to them. They acquired these farms by evicting the owners, some of whom had been turned to be working tools of the farm. One could not help from admiring those Guernsey cattle, those beautiful productive farms, the good

bordering

it

houses, the easy settlers

— the

and high standard

mothers of

of

life

owned by

This resembles

discrimination.

all

the selfish

my

grandfather’s story— the settlers are no longer true friends. In the school, there was a Kikuyu boy’s association, Gikuyu Gitungati gerenwa Thingira-ini (Kikuyu Servants or

N

the

,

—

GGNT

Rear Guards— Receive Rewards

at the Elder’s Hut). This

was

not a registered association; the masters didn’t know about it. It was both political and educational in aims. It was organized by the senior boys, who taught us the need for further and enlargement of education to our people, taught history how the English people acquiied their supremacy, how they came to our

country,

alienated our lands, and tianity religion.

how

how

they

hypocritical they are in their Chris-

We

could only be equal with them if we learned up to their standards and learned how to master the various jobs they were doing in the country. Inspired by this association, students from r

Othaya and North

Tetu. Divisions of Nyeri, together with a few from South Tetu Division, formed another association: Kihumo kia Uiguano na Ngwatamro ya Agikuyu, The Beginning of Unity and Co-operation of the

Agikuyu

(the initials,

KUNA = True).

I

was the Vice Secre-

THE MIRACLE OF READING tary of the association.

Our aim was

101

to deplore the differences of

prayed and worshipped the same God and the same Christ and yet the differences among them were Christian sects. After

all,

they

many and so great that from his home in order to

so

all

a child had to leave a school half a mile

attend another school 7 or 8 miles in which his parents have been Christened.

away

During the holidays, our KUNA association held five meetings in which we stressed to the parents and pupils our aims, criticised what they were doing, warned them that the Kenya Government were issuing certificates to anyone who passed the competitive examinations irrespective of his religion. We told them that religion had nothing to do with the exams, hence the exam should be considered first and religion second. We appealed to them to save children such unnecessary long journeys and bear in mind that being of a different sect didn’t make one become a different Kikuyu as some thought. We compared these sects with the nine Kikuyu clans, which unitedly fought against any enemy that attacked any of the clans. We preached to them that ignorance was our chief enemy, and that education was our best weapon. If we united as the name of our association forecast, it would be a true success, and if we opposed we would remain divided and defeated. We reminded them of the colonial policy ‘Divide and Rule.’

—

In addition to believed

in

this,

my

faith

religion

the existence of a mighty

Commandments.

I

started wavering.

God and obeyed

his

I

ten

took Jesus Christ to be one of the world’s great

teachers or doctors or prophets. the Bible for Jesus to

The Holy

in

become

I

did not find sufficient proof in

the begotten Son of God.

Bible consisted of

Middle East

history, autobiographies,

and prophesies which are referred to as the word of God. The Israelite history which covers almost the entire Bible is full of wars and conquering of tribes and nations who worshipped other Gods. These wars were supposedly led by Mighty God to smash other nations. This was contrary to God’s peace and mercy, I thought. The Old Testament which covers the greater part of the Holy Bible

is

mostly Israelite or Jewish religion which

in

all respects

Kikuyu religion before the arrival of the European. This only makes a Kikuyu believe that our religion was the right one. I had a strong thought that the Kikuyu were one of the agrees with the

twelve Israel tribes.

The

Christian sects had

become

so

many

in the

world and their

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

102 and

differences

conflicts so great that

hatred of each other had

become a common feature amongst them.

was impossible for me to believe that they were branches of the same tree, yet Jesus was the symbol in them all. Whenever these sects added new rules to their churches, though they may be good for the people, yet they each claimed that they were God’s rules. This made me to think that there was much pretence with a motive behind it. The Christians had completely failed to practice what they preached or believed but more commonly acted contrary. With these points, on the one hand, the Christianity teachings had maintained the country’s peace, moral and a little bit of citizenship and, though I kept wavering with the tide, I could not completely abandon the church, as there were some important points of which I could not get a substitute for them. Yet I remained critical to It

—

the church dogmas.

Our preaching

KUNA]

was effective and I was becoming more interested in politics. At about this time Sir Humphrey Gilbert issued a report in Nyeri stating that the district was densely populated and that the livestock were overstocking. He suggested that all young persons be settled in Yatta Plains, in Ukambani, where Government had been working out some irrigation schemes. We were very much disappointed by his suggestions, knowing that North Nyeri had recently adjoined to the settled area [of Nanyuki], and probably that might be another attempt to evict Kikuyu from Nyeri. All the Nyeri students met to discuss that report. We confirmed

moved Nyeri

[in

be true but rejected the idea of being

his findings to

any other part of Kenya other than the part adjoining the former North Nyeri, which was occupied by white

into

—

settlers.

We

Secretary,

then drafted a

memorandum, with

Kenya Government,

copies to the Chief

the D.C. Nyeri, the Local Native

Council Secretary Nyeri, and a copy to Mr E. W. Mathu, the only African member of the Kenya Legislative Council. I with another person were elected to take Mr Mathu’s copy to his home. We took the

letter,

had a

talk

with him

ten-roomed stone house and we never heard of the eviction plans any more. The Principal wrote the D.C. several times asking him to send my fee of which he never received any reply. I learned from my step-mothers

D.C. on

my

letter

that

she had

in his

received

the

money from

the

then asked her to send me the money, which arrived just two hours before the closing of the first term. With this behalf.

I

THE MIRACLE OF READING money

worries at

studies. I

home and

was then demoted

at school,

to

Form

I

IO3

could not do well in

my

iB.

At the completion of my two years, I passed the Junior Secondary Examination in Mathematics, Arithmetic, English Composition, Swahili, Physics and Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture, History and Geography and Carpentry. Finance difficulty had become so great that employment was the only ringing sound in my mind. I felt bad for leaving the school, but had no other alternative. I thought I could do well as a teacher or an agriculture instructor. I could then help my people to learn better ways of living and farming. Soon after I left the school, and while I was awaiting a response from the Teacher Training School or the Soil Conservation Training School, I was offered a teaching job by the Chairman of the Gachatha Kikuyu Independent School Association. I refused this offer at first, knowing that I would have to sacrifice my chance for further

training.

The

school

committee, however, told

history of the independent schools

me

the

movement and explained how

they had separated themselves from the mission schools because the

had rejected the female circumcision and polygamy, two very important features of the traditional Kikuyu culture. To marry many wives was a sign of a man’s wealth and no girl could be married until she was circumcised. The leaders of the KISA considered the missionaries as the destroyers of the Kikuyu traditional and customary laws and since the missions were managed by Europeans, the Kikuyu had the feeling that the white man wanted to destroy their culture, replacing it by his own. The fact that my parents belonged to the Kikuyu Independent Schools Association and that I myself was educated in these schools, led the committee to feel that I should accept their offer. They latter

thought that children educated educating those to follow.

They

be ruled and led by the white

me

to lead

my

in

their schools should

also told

me how

man and how

people up to the standard

better I

assist

in

they hated to it

would be

had attained

for

in the

Government schools so that they might be in a position to lead themselves. Having heard all their arguments, I decided to accept their offer to teach at the KISA school and thus lost my opportunity for further training at the agricultural school.

Earning

140s.

per month,

I

then became the Headmaster of the

Gachatha Secondary School. At the opening of the first term in in the school. I 1947, I became the classmaster of the first Form 1

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

IO4 met many

difficulties in

available to

my new

occupation. There were no books

teachers for studies,

the.

no

and no scheme blackboards and

syllabuses

There were only classrooms, students, boxes of chalk. I had to go to the Government African School, Kagumo, and borrow syllabuses and copy them so as to be able to

of work.

teach.

Gachatha accepted boarding students and the newly built dormitories and dining hall were built of mud and wattle. Pupils had to draw water for cooking from a stream some distance from the school. I asked the committee to buy instruction books and a small water pump. The committee was very slow in doing these things for it had no funds. It had to collect money from its members who were mainly parents of the students, who paid 99s. a year for fees and additional money for uniforms and equipment for each student. The parents were not rich and could hardly be expected to pay more. Nevertheless, the lack of funds brought about a situation in which the school failed to attain high standards in building and education. Good teachers couldn’t be gotten because the schools couldn’t afford to pay high salaries. As it was, teachers had often to go without salary for a number of months, until a collection was made and they could be paid.

When

occurred with me,

this

I

didn’t

understand the

really

great financial difficulties which confronted the schools.

I

thought

comply with my requests for books and other supplies and that this was hindering the progress of the school. As the Chairman had made many failingpromises, I therethe

Chairman

willfully failed to

fore decided to resign teaching. Before

I

left

the teaching,

I

had

a strong feeling that the Kikuyu Independent Schools Association had a heavy burden that oppressed them in the management of their schools Poll

Tax

.

.

.

chiefly the financial difficulties. All

its

members paid

Government and received no aid at all from the money, while all the missionary schools received

to the

share of their

grants from the Ministry of Education. This was a question to be raised by the leaders of the KISA schools. I also considered their sectarian reasons, polygamy and the girls circumcision, as being

unnecessary.

thought that

wouldn’t be long before the country’s economy forced everyone to marry only one wife with no resistance to that and also education and civilization would bring the girls’ I

it

circumcision to an end in the future. cision

added nothing

to

I

believed that

them other than prejudice

girls’

circum-

of pride.

I

also

THE MIRACLE OF READING

IO5

held a strong feeling that any circumcision, ear piercing, removal

making

any brand marks on any part of the body, though all these be traditional or customary laws, were totally against nature and perhaps they might have originated on ignorance grounds as they all aimed at making a person more of incisors, or the

of

beautiful or perfect.

My

me

When

them goodbye and told them my reasons for resignation, they cried tears and ran away from the school for three days and some never returned to the school. But as I was fully convinced that the Chairman was the hindrance of the school’s progress and that I couldn’t by any means work with him, they could not win me. pupils loved

very much.

I

bid

CHAPTER

V

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE During

world of business, culminating in a rapid retreat to teaching, Karari found himself conhis brief sojourn into the

fronted by the same barriers and vicissitudes which so effectively

avenue to success for the poor but aspiring African. As a building contractor, he encountered the brute fact that in contractual relations between whites and blacks it was the former

blocked

this

who normally

the terms

and were

a position to enforce compliance. African parties to such agreements, whether in the field of employer-employee relations, crop or stock sales to European-controlled marketing boards or other areas, had little effective bargaining power and even less chance of sustaining a charge of breach of contract against a white man or firm. set

in

Though

contact and a certain degree of cooperation did exist across the lines of cleavage between white and black, it was the

European, from his position of dominance, who established the particular forms and terms of this cooperation. As one African leader aptly put it, it was a type of cooperation bearing close resemblance to that of a horse and its rider. In his fling at the poultry and stock trade, Karari again met the fate of most undercapitalized African petty traders and hawkers. License

fees, intense

competition from established Asian dealers, Government restrictions, high transportation costs, the ups and downs of the consumer market, ill-fated ventures into illegal trade,

repeatedly crushed the hopes and ambitions of all but the most fortunate and persistent African aspirants to lower petit bourgeoise status. Karari’s failure story was repeated with little variation time and time again by every

with

whom

etc.,

I

informant worked. For most, however, lacking Karari’s edu-

meant a return to the crowded labor markets urban slum or White Highlands. cation,

it

106

of the

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE I

left

school in August 1948

and ventured

interested in personal wealth.

Wedd

for building a

I

107

into the world, this time

held a contract with

farm house and several others

Mr

G. L. P.

for clearing

bush areas in the farms. After a time, a friend of mine, Karuu Gitegenye, an employee for 10 years by a Boer farmer,

Odendaal,

who was

also the

employer of

my

Mr

uncle, invited

have given

B.

me

to

made with his employer. The contract read Karuu a contract to repair Leshau dam until it

a contract he had ‘I

J.

:

and overflowing.’ Signed J. B. Odendaal. The contract was not clear. It did not mention any payment. I met the Boer at the dam. He told me that we should measure the volume of the soil used for blocking the waterflow, and that we should dig an even level of 2 feet deep to make it easier for calcu‘Five lation. I asked him how much he would pay us. He replied shillings per 100 cubic feet, and I have told Karuu the same.’ ‘Why didn’t you put that in the contract?' I asked the Boer. ‘Is orright, I been with Karuu many years and he can witness durt me always given him money widout written kondract. Is durt true, Karuu?’ the Boer asked. ‘Ye surr,’ replied Karuu. With that the Boer, pretending to be angry, walked home. My partner Karuu convinced me that the Boer was a trusted wheelperson. We then got working tools from the Boer’s store barrows, mattocks and shovels. We hired workers and completed the project in a month. We measured the volume of the soil we had dug and calculated the amount due to us; some 3,360s. When the Boer came to see our work, he said it was very good. He measured the volume and calculated it at 25 cents per 100 cubic feet, which came to 168s. He then deducted 3s. for hiring his implements. He told us that he would only pay us 165s.; all we had done was repair his old dam. I was extremely angered by this and went with my partner to the Thomson’s Falls Labour Office and I accused the Boer before the Labour officer, who promised to go with me to see the dam. He went during my absence, and I met him again in his office. He asked me to produce a written contract and when Karuu gave him the vague written piece of paper, he replied after reading that the money we were claiming was not in the contract. I explained him how the Boer had made a verbal promise in the presence of some of our workers. After all, he told me that there was nothing he or anyone else could do for us. He explained the

stops leaking

:

:

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

108

me

law and told

written contracts. of the dangers of

be very careful in the future to get good

to

He

told

me

the following story so as to

warn me

my business.

Kikuyu for digging a well. In the contract it stated that the man would pay the Kikuyu 5s. for every foot he dug until water was reached. Well, the man had dug 100 feet but had not yet struck water. He wanted to stop, thinking there was no water, but the Boer insisted that he keep on digging until he got water. The Kikuyu started digging again until it became so hot in the hole that they had to stop, and still no water; and also no money for the work he had done. He advised us to take the 165s. and added that he did not object to our wasting more time and money in the case, but he was certain Another Boer,

seems,

it

had given a contract

we could not win. Knowing that white man was

to a

that

the only judge in our case,

I lost

hope and accepted the 165s. I requested the labour officer to speak to my workmen who were sitting outside his office awaiting for his judgement. He convinced them that we have all been deceived and while speaking on my favour he asked them not to claim more money than the Boer had paid us. Though the Boer was all the time standing trembling in the officer

he didn’t

talk, for the

labour

advocated for him.

The Boer handed over

me

office,

the 165s. to the labour officer

the same. After a short discussion with

my

who gave

employees who,

though they had worked for 30 days, realized how

had been cheated and agreed that we should share the money equally amongst 35 persons and they therefore didn’t demand full payment of their wages. In the end it cost me and my partner 450s. which we had spent on food for our workers over the month’s period plus time and energy we had put into the labour. The next day the Boer saw me in his farm; he pretended to be very angry because I had accused him to the labour officer and ordered that

if

me

I

broken English to get out of his farm, saying again on his land he would shoot me. I was very

in his

me

he saw

angry, but there was nothing

I

could do. This particular Boer had

education than myself and spoke very little English. When I left, as he was instructing his workers to report to him if they saw me on the farm, he referred to me as Mzungu wa Njama, meaning less

Njama

me

the European.

as a very

He

really felt that this

poor European

[a

abused

me by

figuring

Black European]— 3. poor educated

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE person.

He

also told his

men

that

anyone helping

IO9

me would

be

immediately discharged. This incident created in settlers as

a whole.

I

me

an

ill-feeling

towards the European

looked at the work Africans were doing on

wages and how the settlers exploited our energies. My uncle had been employed by this Boer for 23 years and his wage was only 22s. a month. It was impossible for me not these farms for very

little

to hate them.

Our

partnership with

Karuu ended and

I

was hired by

OF

Pejeta Ltd. (one of the Lord Delamere’s estates in Nanyuki) for building farm houses.

earned 3 /50s. a day. After three months, two Indians (Sikhs), a carpenter and builder employed for 22s. and 25s. a day, were discharged and I took over their jobs earning only

5s.

I

a day, housed and rationed.

In August 1949, I left for Meru with the money I had saved to try my fortune in sheep, goat and cattle trade which had been

recommended to me by a Meru friend of mine who would become my partner. I used to buy herds of cattle, sheep and goats from Isiolo and two other markets on the boundary of Meru and highly

the Northern Frontier from Somali

take this stock in

and Boran herdsmen. the Tigania Division where I sold them

I

would

in either

whole herd or at retail. I also rented a small butchery in Kianjae market where I slaughtered all the animals that were unable to walk or were not bought alive. Trade was abundant in the area. Kahure Macharia, a young man of my location who had gone to

same objective, was a poulterer. We rented another with him where I would store eggs and chickens while he

Meru with plot

the

took the others for sale to Nairobi.

months our business flourished very well and we were very happy. The great change started. It so happened that people at this time had very little money to spend. 1949 had been a very bad year due to a severe drought and no crops had been harvested. My trade faltered with too few people around with money enough to buy my animals, many of which became weak and died. When I slaughtered them in the butchery, I still couldn’t For the

sell

first

three

the meat. Finally,

poultry was

still

my

business collapsed completely

—but

the

doing well. Kahure told me that we could make we bought miraa-leaves of a certain tree that is

more money if planted and cultivated

— and

Boran are fond of

in

Meru and which

take

it

to Nairobi;

Sudanese, Somali and

we

could

sell

it

at over

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

10

sounded like profitable trade, but no one could trade with miraa without a license. We therefore put miraa inside a box and covered the top three layers with eggs. Our times the buying price.

six

secret

It

was known by some Meru who did not

like to see

Kikuyu

They informed the police. Since the latter trade had become very profitable, we invested most of our money in it. Kahure was ambushed on his way to Nairobi. He was caught and business flourish.

imprisoned for confiscated

months. All our chickens, eggs and miraa were

six

—worth

i,8oos.

was also afraid that those Meru people would trap me into some trouble as they had my partner. I left for Nanyuki without money. My business had so failed as if it had been cursed. On my arrival at Nanyuki, I went to see a friend employed in a European farm adjoining the town. The European saw me opening his gate and ordered his wild dog to attack me. I fought the dog but he tore my long trousers. The furious European came to aid his dog; he gave me a blow and the fight started. While we were wrestling, his dog and his workmen helped him. Instantly, I was taken to the police station and charged that I was trying to steal his timber. The next day I appeared before the D.C. being I

proved that the European was lying. I was remanded for eight days. When I appeared in the court again, my charge had been changed to trespass. To this I was sentenced the resident magistrate.

I

months hard labour. I appealed for a fine substitution, seeing friends who wanted to pay fine for me. My request was rejected and I fulfilled the white man’s will. I arrived home by the beginning of March 1950 without money after one and a half years of my attempts to acquire wealth in the world which had resulted in a complete failure. I vowed to myself to three

not to leave could do After

in

my

my

our

district for the

own

little

next five years and see what

I

garden.

father’s death, the

man who had

sold

him four

acres

refunded our money and took his garden. The orange, lemon and loquat trees I had planted while a school boy at Kagumo

were then very productful. Attracted by my former work, I made many tree nurseries. Within six months I was able to sell different kinds of fruit trees, timber

and hedge

trees

from

my

nurseries in

thousands and had planted over a thousand timber trees, mainly cypress, along the boundary of our land. I had started keeping

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE poultry. capital

My

I

brain was then to work on land as a farmer.

and the land

work on was too

to

I

I I

had no

small.

The new

year 1951 broke with good news. Muthua-ini Secondary School (KISA), some 12 miles north, wanted a teacher. Its committee had sent an elder to

come and

ask

me

would the Head-

whether

I

opened the school as master earning 200s. a month. This school had classes ranging from Std. to Form 2. The latter had five pupils only. Knowing that the class couldn’t pay for its teacher, I closed it down. The accept the job. January 15th

I

1

lower to

classes, Std.

1

to 4, paid fees to the

the Beecher Report

Government according

and received a grant from the

Education Board, which paid the

District

salaries of the teachers at this

and the pupils equipments. Though the higher classes were ‘unaided’, I had forwarded the names of all the teachers in the payment vouchers, thus enabling me to draw 140s. extra from what I was paid by the school committee. Students had to pay 33s. per term [three terms per year] and received no equipment or clothing. A dormitory was built for students who came a long distance from their home to school. This cost 60s. extra per term and included food. There were over 500 students in the school. The former headmaster had taken all the troubles to get syllabuses printed for the school and a few books for teachers were available. The school was better managed than Gachatha. Johana Kunyiha, former President of the KISA in Central Province and Rift Valley, had level

agreed to cooperate with the Government during the previous year’s split [in

KISA’s managing committee] and was then leading

only ten schools

Maina, the

in

District

the

district

while Willy

Chairman, was leading

schools [which retained close

ties to

the

Jimmy Wambugu

all

the other

KISA

KISA-run Teachers Train-

ing College, Githunguri].

Though a scheme

work was devised, no Government approved examination could be given to students in the higher classes. Having recognized my great problem, I approached the District Education Officer, Mr Collier, who took my requests to the Provincial Education Officer,

Mr

of

Brumerly, and the

latter visited

my

school and,

recommended that my students be allowed to sit for the Government Kenya African Preliminary Examination [KAPE] at the end of 1952. I had to build a workshop and make after

we

sure that

talked,

my

students had a knowledge of handcrafts which was

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

12

managed to do after subscriptions were raised. I gave instruction to woodwork and prepared them Form 2 for the examination by the end of the year 95 2 f° r part of the examination. This

I

1

was another condition given to me by the education officer. The school was forced to buy more land and I spent my own money in keeping poultry and pigs for the

students. Practical Agriculture

school’s practical work.

In June and July

my

school was engaged in inter-school sports

competitions. This was followed by district

My

petitions.

school

was very

Two

and provinces com-

successful indeed that

my

it

defeated

went to Uganda for interterritorial races. During the sports time, I was engaged in recording the winners. The rumours that my school was to become the most of the

first

among

schools.

the

following year of the year

I

of

pupils

KISA schools to be admitted to sit for KAPE the made me and my school to be known. By the end received many applications for admittance in the

school the following year.

was

at this time, during the holidays in

December, that I got married to Junius Nyaguthii, a girl teacher in a nearby school. The following year, 1952, I had to concentrate my work on the class that was to sit for the examination, but the Beecher Report which was then in practice had become a menace in education. The President, Johana Kunyiha, the School Committee and myself wanted to cooperate with the Government. In fact, we were not at all worried if the Government took control over the school’s finance, but we were very much worried about the limits placed on the number of pupils per class and the number of secondary It

the country.

We

want to oppose the Beecher Report but we wanted it to be amended. I approached the District Education Officer, Mr Collier the only sociable European I had ever met and we discussed the Beecher Report. He very much sympathized with the Africans and agreed that the Beecher Report should be amended but, as a Government servant, he had no power schools

in

—

—

of opposing

didn’t

He

could only refer to it as the claims of the Africans. We then arranged that we would hold a committee meeting which we should invite him and other prominent elders in it.

which we should

bad points of the Report and call for a parents general meeting and also invite him in which we would claim the

education

discuss the

amendment officer,

Mr

of the Beecher Report. After all this, the

Collier,

promised the general meeting that he

TO SEEK MY FORTUNE was going to

see the District

Commissioner

—who

113 had power

—on

our behalf so that the Beecher’s rationing system of education could be amended. In the course of his attempts to

make changes

for the betterment of the African children’s education,

Mr

my

beloved

annoyed the Kenya Government and was, without notice, repatriated with his wife to the U.K. It was also time for my life planning. I had to pay the dowry to my wife’s parents, which I hadn’t completed by the time I took Nyaguthii, plan and build a better house and at the same time save money that would enable me to acquire a good farm on which to live with my expected family. With all these problems in my mind pulling me this way and that way, I attended the KAU rally at the showgrounds on 26 July 1952. friend

Collier

CHAPTER

VI

THE OATH OF UNITY was

It felt

not until early September 1952 that Karari, having the first sting of ostracism and isolation, finally got his chance

Movement.

to join the

It

had, over the preceding two years,

grown to include a vast majority of his fellow villagers and Kikuyu; it had also, particularly since the introduction of the Warriors’ Oath, became increasingly bold and militant. Karari’s oath, in contrast to earlier versions of the Unity Oath, reflected this increasing militancy.

The vows

themselves,

now more com-

prehensive, included references to the boycott of

European beer and the hiding

and cigarettes, the possibility of a general strike of arms and ammunition. Again, in his instructions initiates,

the oath administrator

made

it

to the

quite clear that

if

new

reason

and peaceful means failed to bring them land and freedom, they would not hesitate to revolt’. The oathing ceremony which Karari attended also revealed another development. The growing need for unity and total commitment to the Movement, in the face of mounting external pressures, increasing anti-white, anti-mission feelings and the internal frailties brought about in part by the very rapid expansion of the Movement, exerted a steady pressure toward the increased use and invocation of traditional Kikuyu symbols and magico-religious practices. This fact has led many, seeking the .

.

easy satisfaction of facile classification, to regard the as

simply

a

backward-looking,

‘nativistic’,

Movement

Kikuyu

cult

or

which sought only a return to the old life. In actuality, as will become clear in later chapters, the secular and the religious, the tribal and the African national, the old and the new, were becoming increasingly interwoven in the complex ideological fabric of the Kikuyu peasant masses. Karari’s own reflections and recollections lay bare some of the tensions and, religious sect

perhaps, contradictions inherent in this developing composite ideology.

1

14

THE OATH OF UNITY The Gikuyu and Mumbi underground

I

1

5

was becoming both popular and powerful all over the country. A song book published under the name of Stanley Mathenge Mirugi consisting of songs advertising, praising leaders and threatening opposers of the society was then on sale. The boycott on drinking European beer and smoking European manufactured cigarettes had become effective

KAU

since the

rally at Nyeri.

society

The vernacular

papers, especially

Mumenyereri, increased the publicity of Gikuyu and Mumbi. The unity and honesty in Nairobi had marvelled everybody. Articles such as newspapers could sell themselves in Nairobi streets and no thugs dared take that money. The reports of missing people and oath intimidation increased in the newspapers these people were definitely the opposers of the secret society of Gikuyu and Mumbi and could only have been assassinated, or probably might have met their death by their refusal to take the oath. With this

—

on the one hand and Gikuyu and Mumbi’s aims on the other,

i.e.,

achieve African freedom, recover the stolen lands and the expelling

man, [the aims] were welcomed by 99 per cent of the Africans. With this in mind, I discussed the matter with my fellow teachers and agreed that none would refuse to take the oath if of the white

called.

was only three weeks after the KAU rally at the Nyeri Showgrounds that we had a school vacation for the second term. I went to spend my holiday in Mahiga where my wife and other relatives were living. It was time for me to erect a five roomed house. I had collected all the required building material and only the It

levelling of the building site stopped

wanted

to

me from

complete before the end of

my

building the house

holidays. It

person at least two months to level the ground. friends to

liquor

come and help me

[i.e.,

beer]

in

I

order to entertain

my

would take a

decided to

to level the ground.

I

I

call

brewed a

my

lot of

friends after leveling

the ground.

When

was very much shocked by the attendance. A few persons came to report that they were not available, many never turned up and the few who came never completed the work. I had learnt from some persons during the day the work-day arrived,

I

had the same kind of work on the same day and that his work might have been attended by most of the people who did not turn up to my request. When I was told the name of that another villager

— I 1

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

6

the person,

popular to

I

could not agree.

my villagers

I

I

was ten times

than the man.

In the evening, while circle,

believed that

I

we were

noted something queer.

around, each person drank very

A

all

drinking beer sitting in a

‘horn of love’ was passed

little,

spit into the

all

horn and on

though he were blessing something and then passed it to the next person. When all had drunk of the horn, it was given to Gicuki Wacira, who stood holding the horn in his right hand and started saying prayers. He poured the remaining

his chest

and shoulders

as

on the door frames and then went to finish his prayers outside facing Mount Kenya. In his prayers, he appealed for love, unity and the increment of the Gikuyu and Mumbi membership and power to defeat the enemy. With this we of the liquor in the

fire,

dispersed. I

anxiously wanted to see the other person’s work.

much

I

was very the day

Over 200 people had been working all leveled the ground, built the hut and the women had completed their work of mudding and thatching the hut. This only proved to me that one of the rules of Gikuyu and Mumbi was Do not help any non-members. And that the few who had to come to help me were the only ones who thought I was a member or were nonmembers, if these happened to be. I felt very lonely and worried about what that society might say of me. As we entered the hut surprised.

—

where a few persons were I

still

drinking the remains of the liquor,

noticed another queer form of greetings

—three

strong hand-

which the persons held each others thumbs. It was then obvious to me that nearly all my villagers had taken the Gikuyu and Mumbi oath. I did not like to stay with them; I quickly went home and slept. The following day was a Sunday in the first week of September. After Sunday service I met Mr Samuel Ndiritu Njagi, a clerk in the Ministry of Works, a true friend and a schoolmate at Kagumo who had recently married my relative. He kindly invited me to his home. When we arrived, I learnt that he had brewed beer in his mother’s hut. We spent the whole of the afternoon drinking and talking on ones job and the country’s politics. A few persons came shakes, on the second of

and shared the drink with us. In the evening we left toward home. On the way, Ndiritu told me that he had been invited to a feast by

my

Charles Ngatia Gathitu, a pitsawyer and license holder on timber trades, situated about 400 yards east of my home. neighbor,

THE OATH OF UNITY We

passed

many

people on the

way and

I 1

7

arrived at the house at

There were some people standing outside, including Charles, the owner of the feast. He led us into one of his big huts. Inside, were many people sitting and a hurricane lamp was burning. We were told to wait there while some preparations went on in the other hut. Groups of men and women continued to come until there was very little room for anyone to sit. A few persons would be called by names and moved in the next hut. When I was called to go to the next hut, I was very pleased, but arriving outside in a clear moonshine, I could see hundreds of people standing some armed with pan gas, simis (swords) and clubs. They formed a path on both sides leading to the door of the next hut. I became certain that the day had arrived for me to take the oath, and I had twilight.

to face

As

it

I

manly,

led

my

I

thought.

group marching

cordoned path, they waved

in the

and swords over our heads and I heard one of them asking whether there was an informer to be ‘eaten’. With a reply that we were all good people from another person, we entered the

their pangas

next hut.

By

who

the light of a hurricane lamp,

I

could see the furious guards

armed with pangas and simis. Right in front of us stood an arch of banana and maize stalks and sugar cane stems tied by a forest creeping and climbing plant. We were harassed to take out our coats, money, watches, shoes and any other European metal we had in our possession. Then the oath administrator, Githinji Mwarari who had painted his fat face with white chalk put a band of raw goat’s skin on the right hand wrist of each one stood

—

—

of the seven persons

who were

feet.

mouth

sur-

as a blessing at the

goats’ small intestines

same time throwing a mixture of the

finger millet with other cereals on us. right

were then

on our shoulders Another person then sprayed us with some beer from his

rounded [bound together] by

and

We

to be initiated.

hand middle

Then

Githinji pricked our

finger with a needle until

brought the chest of a

billy

goat and

its

heart

it

still

bled.

He

then

attached to the

them with our blood. He then took a Kikuyu gourd containing blood and with it made a cross on our foreheads and on all important joints saying, ‘May this blood mark the faithful and brave members of the Gikuyu and Mumbi Unity; may this same blood warn you that if you betray our secrets or lungs and smeared

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

18

violate the oath, our at the joints

members

marked by

come and

will

cut you into pieces

this blood’.

We

were then asked to lick each others blood from our middle ‘If I reveal this secret fingers and vowed after the administrator of Gikuyu and Mumbi to a person not a member, may this blood kill me. If I violate any of the rules of the oath may this blood :

kill

me.

We

If I

lie,

may

this

blood

were then ordered

making a

that position,

me.’

kill

each others right hand and

to hold

line,

passed through the arch seven times.

Each time the oath administrator cut breaking

intestine,

into pieces,

it

repeated a curse on us

Muma

‘ :

(‘Slash

who lies !’). We were then made to

the oath

off a piece of the goat’s small

while

all

Ugotuika

Tathu !

maV

uroria muria

in

!

the rest in

the hut

uguo ungiaria maheni!

may you

be cut

like this

Let

!

he

kill

stand facing Mt. Kenya, encircled by

and given two dampened soil balls and ordered to hold hand soil ball against our navels. We then swore ‘I,

intestines,

the

left

:

(Karari Njama),

God and

swear before

present here that.

.

.

before

the people

all

.

—which of Gikuyu and Mumbi and which demands land and freedom —

to

any person who

it,

I

(1)

may

never reveal

shall

this

the chest

oath

is

not a

kill

meat

this secret of the

member

KG A

of our society. If

me! ([Repeated

after each

oath

I

vow

ever reveal

is

while] biting

of a billy goat held together with the heart

and

lungs.) (2)

I

always help any

shall

difficulty or

member

of our society

who

is

in

need of help.

am

ever called, during the day or night, to do any work for this society, I shall obey.

do

(3)

If I

(4)

I

(5)

If 1 ani

shall

on no account ever disobey the leaders of

this society.

ever given firearms or ammunition to hide,

I

shall

so. (6)

called

I

shall

upon

(7)

I

(8)

I

always give

to

do

money

or goods to this society whenever

so.

never

land to a European or an Asian. shall not permit intermarriage between Africans and the

shall

sell

white community.

never go with a prostitute. (10) I shall never cause a girl to become pregnant and leave her unmarried. (9)

I

will

THE OATH OF UNITY

”9

(i i)

I

(12)

I

shall

(13)

I

shall

marry and then seek a divorce. never allow any daughter to remain uncircumcised. never drink European manufactured beer or cigar-

I

shall

never spy on or otherwise

I

shall

never help the missionaries

will never

ettes.

(14)

sell

my

people to Govern-

ment. (15)

to ruin

our traditional and cultural customs.

(16)

I will

(17)

I

our

in their Christian faith

never accept the Beecher Report.

shall

never steal any property belonging to a

member

of

society.

obey any

whenever notified. (19) I will never retreat or abandon any of our mentioned demands but will daily increase more and stronger demands until

we

shall

I

(18)

strike call,

achieve our goals.

(20)

I shall

soon as

I I

(21)

am

pay 62 /50s. and a ram

as assessed

by

this society as

able.

shall

always follow the leadership of

Jomo Kenyatta and

Mbiyu Koinange.’

We

repeated the oath while pricking the eye of a goat with a

kei-apple thorn seven times and then ended the vows by pricking

seven times some seven

sodom

apples.

mixed with some good smelling

oil

To end

Mumbi

make a cross on members of Gikuyu and

was used

our foreheads indicating our reception as

the ceremony, blood to

warning us: ‘Forward ever and backward never!’ We were then allowed to take our belongings, put on our coats and shoes and were welcomed to stay. We paid 2 /50s. each for registration. During the course of our initiation, one person refused to take the oath and was mercilessly beaten. Two guards were [while]

crying [out] seeking permission from their chief leader to

man. The man quickly changed After we had

learnt that death his

mind and took

kill

the

had approached him and he

the oath.

been sworn, the house was very crowded that contained about 80 people; nearly all of whom were initiated on that night. About the same number of old members were working all

outside as guards.

A

Githinji Mwarari,

and

that they

had been

speech was

made by

his assistant

sent

the oath administrator,

Kariuki King’ori,

from the Head Office

in

people an oath that could create a real unity Africans which would

make

it

who

told us

Nairobi to give

among

all

the

easier for the African to gain his

— I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

20

He told us that the society was called Gikuyu and Mumbi or KCA. He remarked that the struggle for the alienated land started as long ago as 1920 by Harry Thuku and the Kikuyu who attempted to fight for the land which caused many deaths in Nairobi and the deportation of Harry Thuku to Kismayu. He said land and freedom.

that the

KCA

was the

society that

return of our alienated land.

He

told

had been struggling for the us that we had been initiated

so as to strengthen the African struggle for the alienated land

chief African

demand. He went on

:

‘We have

—the

learnt that the

our claims. They do not want to leave the bread and butter which they obtain from these lands at the exploitation of our blood on the so-called white paradise. Some of you here might have been fined or imprisoned under the trespass ordinance on stepping on a settler’s farm while you

Kenya

settlers are the chief obstacles to

under

employment or

you had gone there seeking employment only. We cannot tolerate this any longer. We are going to shout to the Kenya Government, which we know that it is controlled by the settlers, until we are heard or else their eardrums would burst. We are going to pursue our demands through reasons and if this fails we would not hesitate to revolt. We have already sent Mr Mbiyu Koinange to England to represent our case to the British Government. ‘You have heard that some of our members have been prosecuted visited

your

relatives

Mau Mau

his

oath. This

else

same oath you have taken today. You are now members of that “Mau Mau”. But don’t speak as being members of “Mau Mau”. If you reveal this secret the Government will imprison you and we will kill you for the breach of the oath you have taken today. Our members are all over the place, even in the Government offices. In three days time you will all learn that more than 3/4 of this sub-location have taken the oath.’ When he sat down, his assistant administrator, Kariuki King’ori, stood and taught us greetings— the old Kikuyu greetings rarely used due to changes brought about by the European civilization such as the shaking of hands and the terminology. ‘If any person wants to refer to the society he would not say “Mau Mau” as you have already been warned, but he would refer to the society as Muhimu (a Swahili word meaning “Most Important”), Muingi (meaning “The Community” in Kikuyu) or Gikuyu na Mumbi: We were warned not to talk anything about the movement in the presence of a non-member. Speaking in a group of persons, one for taking

is

the

THE OATH OF UNITY would say that he has been indicate that there

is

bitten

by a

a person [present]

flea,

who

I

2

I

or louse, or bug to

has not taken the oath.

was about four o’clock in the morning, the cocks were crowing, the moon and the stars were brightly shining. The footpaths were wet and muddy as it had rained sometime before midnight. I quickly and quietly went home and called my wife to open the door for me. Without talking to her I went straight to my bed. Covering myself with blankets, I repeated what I swore several times. As a Christian I had undergone a contrary faith for the oath I had taken was mainly based on Kikuyu religion, belief and superstition. But the aims and objects presented by the society were so real and so essential to life that when compared with Christianity faith, of which its preachers many times failed to practice what they preach, the latter becomes strongly out-weighed. At sunrise I remembered that the next week would be my 26th birthday and that I had been born again in a new society with a new faith. I spent the whole day in bed, partly asleep, as I had not slept the night before, and partly reciting and reasoning my vows. Reflecting on the crowd at the KAU rally held one and a half months ago at Nyeri Showgrounds supporting national demands under the national leader Jomo Kenyatta assisted by Peter Mbiyu Koinange, the cleverest Africans in Kenya whose leadership was advertised in Mathenge’s song book where Jesus Christ’s name has been substituted for by Jomo Kenyatta’s and whereas the Government had taken no action against them proved to me that our true and just grievances were led by powerful and honoured men. I believed that it was an all Kenya African national movement and not a tribal one. With the understanding that African labour is the whole backbone of Kenya’s economy, I believed that if all Kenya Africans went on a labour strike we would paralyse the country’s economy and the white community who holds the most of it would suffer most and recognize our demands. Furthermore, our national leader, Jomo Kenyatta, had lived in England for 17 years and must have during his stay convinced the British It

—

—

Government

Though

of our claims.

the oath clung on

Kikuyu

and superstitions, yet the unity and obedience achieved by it was so great that it could be our only weapon to fight against the white community. Among the vows I had taken, one was to force me to accept girls’ circumcision which I had rejected as early as 1947. There traditions

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

122

was no reason given for any of the vows but I thought that this vow [simply] meant to maintain the Kikuyu tradition. This tradition might be a hindrance to civilization, [but] there are thousands of educated Kikuyus who do not sympathize with girls’ circumcision and who would be helped by the missionary associates to oppose it. I did not have a girl then to be circumcised; this vow might affect me personally some 20 years to come, and then it will be settled by those who are affected today. The other vow that affected me was the Beecher Report. I have already convinced the Education Officer that

ment. There are criticisms

all

it

requires

amend-

over the country and in the Legis-

must be amended, I thought, and our children would get a better education and the parents would have less to subscribe. The Government is prepared to meet teachers wages and equip the pupils at a very low cost. The parents would be happy for the relief of the heavy finance burden, with the exception of a few leaders who live on these subscriptions. Again, this vow does not affect [only] me as an individual. It affects everyone who had a child in the schools all over Kenya. The vow rejects the Beecher Report and not the education. If it is accepted by the parents then they would not send their children to schools and I would have no one to teach. But at this stage, it seems that Kikuyu people have realized the value of education, will make the lative

Council of the Report.

It

—

children continue to learn while their parents struggle for either the amendment or abolition of the Beecher Report. learnt later that with the girl’s circumcision

vow,

was meant to maintain Kikuyu tradition, some of which I thought were silly. I had earlier mentioned that I was against any alteration of the I

?

human

it

body, such as ear-piercing, scarification or the removal of

Most

Kikuyus who were repatriated [during the months following the Government’s declaration of a State of Emergency on 20 October 1952] from the Rift Valley had unhealed wounds of ear-piercing and scarification and continued to teach others to do a thing which they had abandoned for many years. In fact, a flow of going back to magic, witchcraft, seers, prophets, ceremonies and sacrifices and the old superstition had started. This happened due to (1) the failure of our leaders to explain what sort of freedom or government we were going to make. Most of our people are illiterate and have never travelled beyond their tribal boundaries making them ignorants and cannot therefore imagine the teeth.

of the

THE OATH OF UNITY

123

any other government other than the one our forefathers had before the coming of the European; (2) the Christianity failures; (3) the fact that Kikuyu are theists who very much honour and obey their God as they are directed by his prophets, seers, magicians and witchcraft doctors made the Mau Mau organizers make all the rules in the name of God who would supervise every individual as they all honoured him. This might be the cause of Mau Mau religion and superstition, on which the obedience and faith is built. I must remind the reader here that, right from the beginning, the Man Mau had been reported as ‘intimidating oaths to its people' this also happened to all its rules and policies. There were no arguments, reasonings or opposing in the movement as these could lead to betraying the movement [they] were always settled by death. It then followed that whatever had been passed by the councils as rules or suggestions, whether right or wrong, had to be of

—

—

carried on.

The

following day as

was going to Nyeri, I discovered 71s. in my pocket. Someone must have put the money in my pocket while we were taking the oath, knowingly or unknowingly. I thought that I would keep the money until I get the owner and then return it. Arriving at Nyeri, I took one shilling out of the money and bought I

a Social Service League lottery receipt, thinking that the

my

money

became true. I won 2nd prize, 726/48S. I came to learn later than Kituku Kamaitha had unknowingly put his money in my coat when we were harassed to take the oath and

might have been

so

I

refunded

it

luck. It

to him.

As we had been requested to induce our friends to take the oath, I cunningly asked David Wahome to accompany me to a feast some two miles away from home where I knew that an oath ceremony was held. This was very near Stanley Mathenge’s home. Mathenge presided at this oath ceremony and gave a speech just the same as the one I had heard a week ago. This oath had been attended by over 200 people.

Mathenge

referred to the

movement

as

‘Our Government’ or ‘The

African Government’. He explained to us that in the Central Province all our Administrative Officers had been elected and that thev were doing their work well.

know them. He ‘headmen’

and

told

us that

‘chiefs’

He added

we were

who had been

to

that

we

should soon

obey and respect the

elected

by the African

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

124

Government. I learned later that the Colonial Government had been copied out and that the elected persons were only waiting for the day of taking over the Government. Councils started from the Sub-Location,

Location,

Division,

District,

to

Central

Province

and, perhaps, to the Central Government. These councils consisted of nine elected persons

who had powers

over

all

plans, rules

and

judgements.

My

school

School where

and I went back to Muthua-ini was teaching; some 12 miles from home. Being

holidays ended I

mostly busy in school working hard for

my

pupils to pass the

Government Kenya African Preliminary Examination be held in 2 months time, I did very little to help Mau the two months.

that

was

Mau

within

to

CHAPTER

VII

THRESHOLD OF REVOLT As noted

Government’s declaration of a State of Emergency on 20 October 1952, the large-scale arrests of prominent African nationalist leaders and the subsequent series of repressive measures meted out against tribesmen combined to precipitate the very revolt they were ostensibly designed to crush. The implicit Government assumption that the underground and nationalist movements would collapse with the removal of their key leaders and a massive display of British military might proved somewhat faulty. While the Movement was stunned into temporary passivity and partially disintegrated by this two-pronged Government assault, it was still a long way from beaten. Leadership passed into the hands of the now unlinked district and lower-level councils of Nairobi and the rural areas and a number of militant, though semi-educated or illiterate, local leaders began moving into the forests which would become their future bases of operation. Others followed during the next few months, urged on by fear, hunger, a desire for revenge, a sense of duty or adventure, a will to strike back or a combination of these factors. The Nairobi organization, hard-hit by the arrest of Central Province and ‘Central Committee’ members and the repatriation of unemployed Kikuyu workers, started rebuilding a new Central Province Committee was formed and links began to be fashioned between urban groups and those emerging within the forests of Mount Kenya and the earlier,

KEM

—

Aberdares.

Recruitment during this period was stepped-up and an increasing number of youths and young men were, like Karari, volunteering to take the Warriors’ Oath. Since it has been maintained by some writers that this Second Oath was so vile and debasing as to place its takers irrevocably outside normal Kikuyu society, Karari’s statement that ‘it was a horrible oath, though typically 1

See particularly L. S. B. Leakey’s Defeating Methune & Co., 1954 125 1

Mau Mau,

p.

84-87.

126

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

Kikuyu’, deserves some comment.

To

begin with

it

should be

noted that several features of the oath, particularly those involving sexual symbolism, were regarded as ‘horrible’ by each of my informants, and, I presume, by all other initiates. This fact, however, underscores their ‘typically Kikuyu’ character, rather than demonstrating the opposite. To understand this, one must realize that the Kikuyu are traditionally a very puritanical people regarding sexual deviancy or exhibitionism. Even minor public

toward the opposite sex are likely to be frowned upon and few Kikuyu are willing to discuss the intimacies of their sexual life with more than one or two very close friends. Traditionally, sexual taboos were calculatedly ‘broken’ only within the framework of certain puberty rites and important oaths. Thus, a person accused of killing through witchcraft had to submit, if he maintained his innocence, to a public oath in which he swore, while inserting his penis in the vagina of a sheep, that he did not commit the crime in question and calling on the wrath of Ngai to destroy him if he were lying. Again, if a man were accused of having impregnated a girl and he denied have to publicly swear, while biting a piece of it, he would displays of emotion

sweet potatoe or the tip of a bunch of bananas which had been inserted in the girl’s vagina by an old woman, that if he’d ever had intercourse with the

Modern

girl,

the oath should

versions of both these oaths were

common

kill

him.

features of

the Warriors’ Oath.

Three conclusions can be drawn from the above. First, that the sexual acts or symbols performed or invoked while swearing an oath were calculated violations of acknowledged taboos designed, in both traditional and modern usage, to revolt and inspire awe and fear in the initiates or accused. Second, that according to Kikuyu belief, the more vile or repulsive were the acts performed while swearing an oath i.e., the more highly tabooed such acts would be in everyday life the stronger and more binding did such an oath become. Third, that Karari and others should have found the second Oath both ‘horrible’ and ‘typically Kikuyu’ was, in light of the above, both a normal and

—

highly predictable response.

*

—

— THRESHOLD OF REVOLT

127

News around the country were proving that Mau Mau was becoming more active in eliminating persons who could not be changed their faith together with those

in

who were

suspected that they

could inform the Government about the movement, mostly Govern-

ment supporters such

The most

striking

as chiefs,

headmen,

police

and informers.

month after my Senior Chief Waruhiu in

incident occured about a

membership, which was the death of Kiambu District, who was stopped while driving on the outskirts of Nairobi and shot dead on the 9th October 1952. His death was celebrated with great applause and drinking parties.

I

remembered

when young I used to hear a song which wished Chief Waruhiu and Chief Koinange to be buried alive. A fortnight after that

Government declared a State of Emergency on the 20th October. On the same night the Government arrested and his death, the

detained 83 political leaders including Jomo Kenyatta, the President of KAU. Among the political leaders arrested were Kikuyu

Independent Schools Association and Kikuyu Karing’a Schools Association leaders, businessmen, trade unionists and local newspaper men. Though no physical action followed the

Government operation] known as ‘Jock strengthened an ill-will against the Government for

top leaders yet

it

—

arrest of the

[a

Scott’

arresting

our beloved leaders.

The

following day a British Battalion (Johnnies), the Inniskilling

Fusiliers, arrived

here by air from the Middle East to strengthen

and 5th KAR’s [King’s African Rifles], the Kenya Regiment, the Kenya Police and thousands of untrained young chaps from mainly Somali and Turkana tribes. [The latter] were employed and all were distributed all over the Central Province, which is occupied by the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru (KEM tribes). Their main duty being to control oath taking and to guard the chiefs, headmen and Government servants from Mau Mau, who were continually gaining strength. the 3rd, 4th

Two

days after the declaration of the emergency, Chief Nderi

of Nyeri District

was held

in

was informed that a

day time

in

a garden

full

Mau Mau of

banana

oath ceremony plants

down

in

Gura River Valley. He rushed out with his three tribal police guards armed with two rifles, a shotgun and an automatic revolver which the chief had. They were directed to a place where they the

were ambushed. To their surprise, they were and the gang made off with their arms.

all

chopped

to pieces

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

128

from the school I was teaching. When the Government received the news, a few hours later in the afternoon, many security forces were sent to the area to arrest any person they suspected that might have the knowledge of the incident. Many people fled to the forest when they saw the security forces approaching, but more than 100 were arrested for interrogation. At dawn next morning, a collective punishment of This incident happened about

five miles

confiscating all livestock in the Chief Nderi’s location (Thegenge)

was enforced. The security forces performed their duty and by midday tens of thousands of heads of cattle, sheep and goats and pigs were lowing at the Nyeri Showgrounds. Many of them were butchered w’hile others were herded to Dorobo awaiting for marketing.

No Kikuyu

could claim for his animals or any property.

The

enemy number

one,

Government had regarded

Mau Mau,

the

with very

all

Kikuyus

little

as the

confidence in a few chiefs and

headmen. The security forces, being very’ certain that the Kikuyu had nowhere to forward his claims, began robbing him money, clothing, beddings, furnitures, utensils, livestock, and raping girls and women. My wife fell victim to those rapers and begot a child. [This was in 1955 and resulted in the birth of Karari’s second

many Kikuyu met

their death

while trying to prevent their property from being taken

away by the

child, a girl.] It

security forces

is

true to say that

who had found

a chance of collecting their personal

wealth from the Akikuyu.

At

this

time the chiefs,

that they

would be

taken the

Mau Mau

them

as spies.

They

headmen and some church

elders thought

any time by the persons who had oath and were working and walking with

killed at

quickly searched for

all

the persons

who had

not taken the oath and sought loyalty to them. This group, later to

be known as

Home

Guards, bitterly implemented severe beat-

ings, different types of torture to

Mau Mau

suspects, while seeking

confessions. I

eye-witnessed the beating of a person

Thegenge Location trying

to

escape

who had run away from

from being arrested

as

a

suspected person for the interrogation of Chief Nderi’s death. He had fallen into the hands of a Karaihu Sub-location headman,

David Mbutha, who badly beat the victim to unconsciousness. The man died on a lorry on the way to Nyeri Police Station. This headman is known to have killed more than ten people all by himself

THRESHOLD OF REVOLT

1

29

while seeking confession or eliminating his enemies, mainly his

opponents.

At

this time,

two persons were badly wanted by Government;

one of them was Dedan Kimathi, the Secretary-organizer of KAU’s Thomson’s Falls Branch, who had been reported by many confessors as the chief

Mau movement Mirugi, whose

oath administrator and organizer of the

in the Rift Valley.

The

second, Stanley

name and photo had been used

Mau

Mathenge

in publishing a

song

book which advertised the Movement, praised the leaders, degraded and warned Africans who helped the white community and set prayers and religious hymns. To make it worse, some confessors had said that the Chief Nderi’s death had been organized by Mathenge. The police circulated advertising leaflets, one of which contained Mathenge’s photo, and a reward ranging from 5,000s. to 1 0,000s. to the capturer, or informer who would lead the capture or to anyone who would present any of the heads to the Government. This made the two persons with their followers to run away into the forest on 1 December 1952 in order to escape their death. The police announcement made the two persons more significant figures to the people. Thereafter, thousands of confessors used Kimathi’s

and Mathenge’s names

as their oath administrators as a cover for

the truth. It automatically followed that anyone

who committed

a crime wrote a letter calling himself Kimathi or Mathenge. In this

way, the two persons became famous the press their

all

over the country through

and broadcasting informations which aimed

at spoiling

names.

The arrival of Messers Fenner Brockway and Lesley Hale M.P.’s in Kenya at the invitation of KAU of 29 October, and also the

Mau Mau people that Mr

tour of the Secretary of State for the Colonies in the

were used as evidence assuring Peter Mbiyu Koinange, KAU’s delegate to the British Government, had been successful in presenting the case of the African alienated land and the achievement of our freedom, and that the return of the alienated land would be announced soon after their return to England. This propaganda, which looked true, encouraged people to have more faith in the movement. But in spite of such sweet propaganda, the situation was becoming worse and worse daily. The Home Guards’ brutal methods of extracting confessions had revealed the secrets [of the Movement] affected

areas,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

130

members. The Government continued to strengthen its forces by bringing in U.K. battalions and by conversion. Every Kikuyu had to admit that he had taken the Mau Mau oath

and the names

of

in order to ensure his

life,

including those

who

hadn’t taken the

had become so dangerous that a denial of having taken the oath was often replied by a bullet or a club on the head and many died before the rest yielded. With this, the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru were repatriated from Tanganyika, Uganda and mostly from the Rift Valley where over 200,000 Kikuyus had been living. Many of them had been born and bred in the Rift Valley Province and couldn’t tell exactly what part of Kikuyu their parents belonged. These people, unloaded at the District Centers, had no food, were homeless and helpless. At about the same time the Government closed over 300 schools which were under the management of KISA or KKES, thereby oath as

it

causing 60,000 children to loose their education. In Nyeri District,

only ten of the

KISA

Kunyiha, were not While

still

under the leadership of Johana they accepted the Beecher Report.

schools,

closed, as

teaching in one of these schools,

Kikuyu young men were returning for their livestock and other property of

settlers,

I

learnt that thousands

to Rift Valley to revenge

confiscated by the

Kenya

while thousands entered the forest to escape the

Home

Guard and the security force brutality; 15 years to life imprisonment had become an easy court sentence to members and leaders of Mau Mau.

Up

and actions of Mau Mau, the name of the society made popular by the Government pressmen, were only known by persons who had taken the second oath. In fact, one to this stage, the plans

was ignorant of the movement about 10 a.m. David Wahome,

until

my

he took the 2nd oath. At

assistant teacher,

and

I

were

knowingly led by Johnson Ndungu, one of my teachers, to an oath administrator, Daniel Muthua, about three quarters of a mile from the school. On the way I noticed a few scattered guards. Inside the house was Daniel Muthua alone; his assistant was doing something

else in the

next hut.

We

were the only two persons

He

dipped some herb leaves in a Kikuyu gourd containing a mixture of goat’s blood, its abdominal dung [i.e., the to be initiated.

undigested stomach contents of the goat] and water, then sprayed

.

:

!!!

THRESHOLD OF REVOLT us with

own

time,

Naked,

and

uttering words of cleansing

it

we were

1

blessing.

Each

3

at his

initiated.

stood facing Mt. Kenya, holding high a

I

1

!

(damped by

dampened

—

and blood the most important dairy products) in my right hand and the other ball against my navel by my left hand. There were five two foot pieces of the goat’s small intestines laying on the ground about a foot and a half apart and I was instructed to step over these one at a time when completing the set of vows I was about to take. Then, ‘I swear before God and repeating the words of Daniel, I said ball

of soil

milk, animal fat

:

before the people

(1)

who

are here that

.

.

have today become a soldier of Gikuyu and Mumbi and I will from now onwards fight the real fight for the land and

I

freedom of our country blood. Today I have set

we

till

my

get

first

it

or

till

my

drop of

step (stepping over the

of the goat’s small intestine) as a warrior

line

last

and

I

first

will

never retreat.

And

if I

May (2)

ever

If

of an

And

I

shall

ever refuse this soil

if I fail

May (4)

I

will

who

accompany a raid or bring in the head obey and never give lame excuses.

:

and

all its

in this

this soil

I

will

products curse upon

my

people,

and

if

me ever sent to

always report the truth.

:

and

all its

products curse upon

me

never reveal a raid or crime committed to any person

has not taken the Ngero

Violence or Crime)

of

me

called to

spy on our enemies

And

products be a curse upon

all its

never spy or inform on

will

I

am

enemy,

if I

and

this soil

I

May (3)

ever retreat

and

Muma wa

steal

Ngero, Oath firearms wherever

fail to

use or turn over to

Oath will

(

possible.

And

if

ever reveal our secrets or

I

our warriors any firearms

May (5)

I

will

this soil

and

never leave a

help him.

I

acquire

all its

:

products curse upon

member

in difficulty

me

without trying to

:

.

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

132

And

May (6)

ever abandon a

if I

this soil

in trouble

:

me

products be a curse upon

all its

!

obey the orders of my leaders at all times without any argument or complaint and will never fail to give them any money or goods taken in a raid and will never hide any will

I

pillages or take

And

And

and

this soil

never

will

I

them

for myself.

in these things

if I fail

May (7)

and

member

sell

:

all its

products curse upon

me

!

land to any white man.

if I sell

May

this soil

and

all its

products be a curse upon

me

!’

a Kikuyu gourd which contained a Kikuyu knife and a Kikuyu needle. I then sat down on a I

dropped the two

stool.

He

gave

me

balls of soil in

the well stripped chest of a billy goat, from the

had a hole in the bottom and he told me to put my penis in that hole and hold the goat’s chest upright with both my arms. I then repeated the vows for a second time, each time biting the goat’s chest and ending ‘May this thenge kill me,’ and finishing by crossing the 2nd small intestine line. He then took away the chest and brought a Kikuyu pot and kept neck to the

testicles. It

.

.

.

me. He then put the ngata [the bone, containing seven holes, which joins the head and neck] of the billy goat on the pot and gave me seven small mugere sticks. I repeated it

down

upside

in front of

the oath for the third time, putting a

hole and each time ending, ‘And I

if I

.

mugere .

May

stick in

this

each ngata

thenge

kill

me

!’

crossed the third line of small intestines.

He removed the ngata and brought an eye of the goat on the pot. He then gave me seven kei-apple thorns. I repeated the oath for the fourth time, each time pricking the eye with a thorn

ending

.

.

.

‘May

this

thenge

kill

me

!’

As

I

and

stepped across the fourth

he removed the eye and brought seven sodom apples strung together on a thin hard reed and put them on the pot. He then gave me the same kei-apple thorns and I repeated the vows for the fifth time, pricking a thorn at every sodom apple and each time ending ... ‘May I be pricked thus if... !’ and also line of intestines,

crossing the fifth line of the small intestines.

He removed

the pot

and the sodom apples and picked up the

THRESHOLD OF REVOLT

133

and needle. Swinging these over me seven times, each time banging them down on my head, he uttered the blacksmith’s curse, condemning me to death if I violated the vows I had sworn. He then brought a very small Kikuyu gourd that contained a mixture of lion and leopard fat. He dipped a reed in it and with the fat made a cross on my forehead wishing me to be as brave as a lion or a leopard and to have their personality which would frighten my enemies. He then asked me to lick the remainder of the fat off of the reed. The ceremony was over. I dressed and started back to the school with David Wahome, who took the oath

Kikuyu sword,

knife

before me.

On the way to the school we discussed the oath we had taken. We resolved that it was a horrible oath, though typically Kikuyu. vows had been militant. We had definitely been employed in the Gikuyu and Mumbi military force. ‘But what would happen if All the

one disobeyed these vows,’ opinion, though the oath

Wahome asked. ‘Well,’ I replied, ‘In my itself may have no reaction, I consider

have repeatedly vowed under God’s name and that if I disobeyed the oath, my lies would anger God whose wrath might and most likely I would result in all the courses I have made that

I

.

.

.

meet a death penalty from the society.’ ‘You are quite right,’ replied Wahome. ‘Remember that hundreds of people have been killed, even the well-armed European families the Ruck family on North Kinangop and Commander Mikeljohn of Thomson’s Falls. To violate any of the vows would mean to taste death. At present the Government is completely

—

unable to control

Mau Mau

.’

Europeans having been killed. For many years they have killed many Africans but none of the Europeans has ever been sentenced to death by their courts of justice for killing an African in the whole 60 years history of their rule. They regard us as sykes or baboons. I wish Mau Mau courts had

‘Oh

power

!

I

care very

to sentence

little

many

of

for

them

to death until they feel the result

and their hyocritical teaching “Love thy neighwhich they never practiced. It is useless for them

of their injustice

bor as thyself,” to

teach us of the great Chinese philosopher Confucious

taught his people, you.”

“Do

to others as

who

you would have them do unto

’

‘What do you

think,’

Night of Long Swords)

I

?

Utuku wa Hiu Ndaihu (The rumour goes, if all the Kenya tribes

enquired,

As the

‘of

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

134

are taking the oath as

—and a well-organized all

we

are doing

plot

is

—which

carried out,

it

hope they are doing

I

may

be possible to

kill

them has at them have hun-

the Europeans at a given time since everyone of

least three

Africans serving him, while

many

of

dreds of African servants. ‘Did you note that the vows

we made

are of fighting plans?’

I

asked.

answered Wahome,

we were

But you see, the plan might have been in existence for many years and since the society is very secretive, even within its own members, it would be difficult for the ordinary person to know about it unless he was involved in the activity.’ ‘Now, since all the top leaders are detained, who do you think would carry on the plans?’ I asked. ‘Yes,’

‘that

‘Well, their lieutenants of course,’ replied

and Kimathi are

likely to lead the

told frankly.

Wahome. ‘Mathenge

war and they

will soon

become

heroes.’

We

arrived at school, took lunch and prepared for the afternoon

lessons.

CHAPTER

NO ROOM During

IN

VIII

THE MIDDLE

few months of open revolt, from February through May of 1953, Karari found himself playing a double, sphinx-like, role; one which became increasingly fraught with ambivalence and danger. As the major patterns of resistance were being established within forest, town and countryside, this dual role was becoming fixed as a way of life for countless thousands of Kikuyu, Embu and Meru peasants, particularly the women, children and men too old to bear arms. At night, or with great care and secrecy during the day, they attended meetings and oathing ceremonies, carried food and material to supply depots near the forest boundary, provided refuge and lodging for active fighters or new recruits passing through the village, purchased or stole weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, etc., for the guerrilla units, and performed numerous other tasks in support of the ‘fight for land and freedom’. During the daylight hours, however, these same peasants feigned loyalty to the white man’s Government and tried, under steadily mounting pressure and hardships, to carry out the normal tasks and duties of their everyday lives. Many willingly endured this ever dangerous and the

first

harsh double-life,

filled

increasingly with fear, anxiety, suspicion,

hunger and brutality, for one, two and, in some cases, even three years. Others, whose existence was no less dangerous or miserable, endeavoured in very pragmatic fashion to play both sides against the middle, seeking to

accommodate Government

with one hand and the revolutionary forces with the other in a frequently vain effort to safeguard their

and property. For

still

own

lives,

others, like Karari, there

loved ones

was no room

in

the middle; their situation required that they openly declare, in actions as well as words, either for or against the revolution.

Karari, whose recollections reflect the ambivalence inherent in liis

position,

though

decided to throw in his

this decision

lot

was ultimately made 135

with the revolution, for

him by the flow

136

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

a similar decision, and especially those who had achieved an education equal or superior to Karari’s lined up on the Government side. of events. Others faced with

The following week I would take my 18 pupils, who were to sit for KAPE, to the Catholic Church Mission Boys’ School, Nyeri, where would spend a week helping the [proctors] during the examination period. Soon after, we closed the school for the Christmas holidays. The holiday was very dull. Instead of the good Christmas I

songs, bullets

echoed everywhere,

[as

well as] cries for the deceased,

and raping; the cry of beatings and tortures in the chiefs’ centers, in police and prison cells. Instead of feasts there were fasts enforced by sorrow. It had been made illegal for a group of five persons or more to be found anywhere at any time in the whole of Central Province unless under Government supervision. Curfew orders to remain inside houses from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. were imposed. Sadness surrounded all over. I could not go to Mahiga, my location, as a moving pass was required and worse of all, my location had been marked by the Government as the Mau Mau nursery in the district. I prayed and wished the New Year to come quickly and change our horror and and sorrow into happiness in which we would be victorious. Nevertheless, the New Year did not bring any change but, instead, a mass compulsory cleansing ceremony sponsored by Government was enforced. This was performed by witchdoctors (often called Her Majesty’s Witchdoctors) who were mainly Mau Mau members or sympathizers. In reality, they were only deceiving the Government that they were cleansing people. I attended one of these ceremonies held near the school as a spectator. As a Christian, I did not have to undergo this cleansing. Instead, I swore on a Bible at the D.C. s office that I was not a member of Mau Mau. By this time the Government servants had confidence in me as a good teacher who had not taken the Mau Mau oath. The holidays ended and the school reopened, again with all the classes full, for blazing houses, for the robbing

—

according to the Beecher Report, while lessly searched for admittance.

At 10 a.m. on 21 January 1953,

I

many

children

still

vain-

received news from Consolata

Catholic Maternity Hospital, Nyeri, that

my

wife had delivered

NO ROOM our

first

bom

IN

THE MIDDLE

baby. In an hours time

I

was

137

in the hospital to see

our daughter. For the following one and a half months

and

interest

On

on

my

took care

wife and our baby and the school.

the night of 26

raids took place at

I

March

1953 two well organized

Mau Mau

Naivasha and Lari. The Naivasha Raid was on

a police post which was taken by surprise. After a short time of

exchanging

fire,

the police guards ran away.

Our

warriors entered

the camp, released all the prisoners, broke into the

made

off

with

all

armoury and

the arms and ammunition. According to Govern-

ment’s report, our warriors gained 47 precision weapons, including 18 Bren and Sten guns, and 3,780 rounds of ammunition. Our warriors claimed to have gained over 100 precision weapons from

A

young Fort Hall mute named Mungai, who had recently started speaking, was among the Naivasha raiders. His name was used spreading propaganda that he was a God’s prophet and had led the raid with supernatural powers that his little Kikuyu knife turned all the bullets into water. This propaganda was believed by many persons in the forest and reserves. After the raid the mute disappeared dead or alive, the people in the forest could never tell, for it took them many months believing that God’s prophet was in a camp somehere in the Aberdares. This raid increased the strength and fame of Mau Mau. I thought they must have had good plans. The other raid was on Chief Luka of Lari and his supporters. The plan was successful. He and his wives were killed and their houses set on fire. I learnt from friends who witnessesd, that in the morning the Government killed ten times as many persons as the ones who had been killed and set more houses on fire. It was then claimed that the whole action had been committed by Mau Mau in which more than 100 men, women and children had been killed. As I looked at it, there were two motives behind the Government action. The first, a revenge which, by being uncontrolled, went beyond their intenthe Naivasha Raid.

—

—

,

tions.

The

killing of

second, to disdain

women and

think that the

Mau Mau

for the mercilessly unjust

children, thereby causing the sympathizers to

Mau Mau

have

lost sight of their

enemies and have

and that probably the following This only meant to cover [i.e., hide] the

started killed the innocent ones

day would be

their turn.

Mau Mau I

aims by a horrible action to the eyes of the people. personally sympathized with the innocent children [who died],

no matter which

side killed them.

But the blame cast on

Mau Mau

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

138

world by Government for the action was unfair and [false propaganda]. It only made me think that the British believe that killing by a gun or bomb is right, while killing with a panga is to the

evil.

To me,

it

made no

difference whatsoever.

But who has

killed

more innocent women and children, British or Mau Mau ? I wondered whether the bombs dropped on towns and cities by the and in his many British during the First and Second World Wars other wars spared the lives of the innocent women and children

—

—

which they were blaming us. And who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima? How many died? Compare them with the ‘Lari Massacre’. Radio, press and films were used to inform the for

world of the barbarous, uncivilized Lari Massacre. Yes, uncivilized

—but

the British haven’t stopped

it

[i.e.,

uncivilized killings of

innocent people]. Neither have the civilized French,

who have been

women and children in Algeria for years, stopped it. This left me with the thought that were either blind in seeing their own errors, while killing

innocent

over seven the British

they were

bright in exposing their opponents mistakes, or they were doing

it

deliberately for their selfish injustices.

power of Mau Mau and was followed by a flow of thousands of young men entering the Aberdare and Mt. Kenya forests. My home, being only 300 yards from the fringe of Aberdare Forest, began to be used as a waiting place whereby the new recruits from Muthua-ini Village would

The Naivasha Raid marked

the rising

await for the forest warriors to collect them, heading for Karia-ini H.Q. In this way, I was many times invited by the North Tetu Sub-location Committee.

were (1) passing on of orders and instructions from the locational committee; (2) the enrolment of new members and the supervision and administration of the oath; (3) the spread of propaganda; (4) the collection of information about the opposers and informers; (5) the collection of funds; (6) the equipping and directing of recruits to the forest. I was only concerned with the latter. I was given money by the committee to buy rain coats, clothes, medicine, boxes of matches, pan gas etc., and distribute them to the recruits, hand them over to a guide to Its duties

,

my

house 12 miles away where they would stay for a day or two awaiting the warriors from the forest to come for them.

The sweeps and increased.

we

held

As

my

many

patrols in search of hiding or

house

in the school

meetings there and

named Mau Mau

compound was never it

became a hideout

searched, for

many

NO ROOM

IN

THE MIDDLE

1

during the hours of patrol operations. Twice, after a long and

some

the

patrol,

askaris

[i.e.,

headmen, Chief Muhoya and

police, soldiers] stopped at

my

his

39

tire-

well-armed

house and had a cup

and talked about Mau Mau while the very persons they wanted were hearing them sitting in the next room. Outside my house was the school playground filled with police, military, Home Guards and the villagers. Chief Muhoya had ordered that every man in his location had to join the Home Guard. Their duty was of tea

guard throughout the night the place allocated to each group. It then happened that in every Home Guard group of about 50 men only less than five were not members of Mau Mau and in to

?

were Mau Mau members. Mau Mau personnel were appointed to be headmen’s guards in order to maintain a flow of the Government plans and information. I had asked the chief to give me a group of Home Guards for guarding the teachers during the nights as I had learnt that many teachers were being killed and schools destroyed in protest of the Beecher

some groups

Report.

all

The group he gave me

and most

izers

active

members

for guarding contained the organ-

of the village, while the group

guarding the school building had only one person, the group’s

who had not taken the oath. The Headman received some information that I hid the wanted Mau Mau during many of his searches. One night, after the Headman had failed to catch two persons who had been seen by an informer, my house was surrounded at 3 a.m. The Headman called leader,

two wanted persons to go under my bed. In my pyjamas, I opened the door. The Headman spotted me with his torchlight. He entered the sitting room, moved his torch all around and then asked me how many we were in the house. “Me and my me.

I

wife,”

He

told the

I

answered.

then asked for the dormitory keys.

I

took the keys and walked

Noting that the house had been surrounded by Home Guards from another group, I greeted them and led them toward the school dormitory. I opened the door and they entered, thinking out.

that the

wanted persons were

with a great disappointment.

my

inside. I

They found nobody and

locked and returned to

—

my

left

room

worry the Home Guards had left. Though they spent the whole day in my house, I had a feeling that someone must have told the Headman of my activities in the movement. I decided that I would ask the Headman what he had

and

told

friends not to

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

I40

mind when he inspected

in his

my

house at night and try and

gain confidence in him.

Mau Mau

Headquarters situated in the Aberdare Forest about 10 miles on the Othaya ridge in my division was so great that the Government forces headed by military were several times killed or driven back at their attempts to reach the H.Q. In this month, Othaya Police Post and Kairuthi Home Guard Post, situated in a market of stone shops, were both raided on the same night by warriors from the H.Q. The Kairuthi Raid was successful, killing 18 Home Guards, gaining 3 precision weapons and looting the goods in the shops. I learnt later that the warrior who died at Kairuthi had been shot by one of his colleagues in mistaking him for the

By mid-May,

the

—

strength at the Karia-ini

—

enemy.

The Othaya Raid was Sacks

A

The

place was well-guarded.

were used to build a protection wall against high guard’s tower was armed with automatic weapons

filled

bullets.

unsuccessful.

with

soil

and hand grenades. The

fight

broke before

the warriors were

all

ready position as the guards had seen them. The Mau Mau retreated after a heated exchange of fire leaving a dozen dead warriors behind the barbed fencing wires while others were in

drowned by the Thuti River. I couldn’t know the truth for the country had become full of propaganda from both sides. Nevertheless, [these raids] won fame to Mau Mau in its propaganda. At about the same time Gatumbiro Home Guard Post, five miles west of the school, was raided, killing three, gaining one shotgun and burning to death 17 others inside the post and suffering no casualty on the side of Mau Mau. Less than a mile north of this post, Bildad Giticha, Supervisor of the Church of Scotland Mission School, was attacked in his shop. He ran out in the darkness and escaped death, but his thumb and two fingers were injured by a neighbouring schools were attacked and equipment destroyed. Thousands of heads of cattle were taken from the

bullet.

Six

reserve into the forest for the warriors’ food.

meant death

To

follow these cattle

to anyone.

Bildad Giticha, with his bandaged hand suffering from Mau Mau wounds, was posted in my school to assist me. We arranged

with him that he would be taking he would always dnve to

was sure of

his

Kamakwa

lunch

at 4 in

my

house and that the afternoon where he in

security. After a week’s stay with Bildad Giticha,

I

NO ROOM received a letter from Forest. It read

IN

THE MIDDLE

Man Mau unnamed

1

4

1

leaders in the Aberdare

:

Dear K. Njama,

We

have been informed of your good activities. Many of our recent recruits praise you very much for equipment, guidance help and your wife’s welcome. But there is something you should bear in mind and that is (1) You are still teaching under Beecher’s Report; (2) We have been informed that our enemy Bildad Giticha lunches with you in your house and that you

have been dressing his wounds helping him to recover. (3) You cannot serve two masters. We advise you to leave that job or join us or else you will find yourself in trouble.

Thaai

AB The bad

to

letter

upset

remain

my

jobless.

mind.

The

I

[i.e.,

Court No.

my

could not change

Peace],

job. It

7

was

only job that Government would offer

on its side against my people. ‘Oh, no I wouldn’t do this!’ I would arrange to meet Stanley Mathenge at home and discuss my situation with him whether he knew of the letter or would like me to be his secretary. Before I settled my plans, Muthua-ini Headman, Karinjoya, alias Kariuki, was raided at night. He and his daughter, who tried to help him, were badly injured by bullets and his houses and stores were put on fire. His wife and children were allowed to come out of the houses before they were set on fire. When all the buildings blazed, the gang made off, leaving the Headman’s wife and her children standing outside. The Home Guards who came for help managed to take him out of the fire but he died on the way to is

to fight

!

—

the hospital.

The

next day

I

took

all

the pupils

and teachers

to his funeral,

which was attended by Chief Muhoya, all the locational headmen, and some Tribal Police who fired shots for the deceased’s honour. In the evening I received a second strong warning that if I did not resign from that management they would take for granted that I wholly supported the Beecher Report and the Government and that they would regard me as an enemy and would not hesitate to kill me. The letter also reminded me of keeping Bildad Giticha in my house who might be a Government informer, particularly on my activities. It also said that after the victory was

—

M A U M A U FROM WITHIN

142

won, all the schools would be reopened under African management, but that now was the time to fight for land and freedom. The letter was signed by Dedan Kimathi. Worried about my security and still awaiting for a reply from Stanley Mathenge, I collected the remainder of the school fees, some 300s., and took it to the District Education Officer on Saturday morning on the 30th May 1953. He gave me a receipt and issued me with a transfer form which notified me that I was to commence teaching at Nduni-ini School on the slopes of Mt.

Kenya on 4 June

Mau

1953.

I

was not known

in that area

and

Mau

was getting into more troubles. I could hardly think of aiding the Government and, on the other hand, Government had failed completely to protect teachers from Mau Mau attacks. The Home Guard group, up to the moment, that had been guarding me was composed of all the active persons who had taken the 2nd oath, and with whom I had there

was very

active.

I

thought that

I

been collaborating in helping the fighters. I had five days off duty according to the transfer form in which I would make all the necessary arrangements. Pushing my bicycle uphill toward the school, I thought of the right and the revolution results. At that time Mau Mau was winning. Hundreds of Europeans were running away out of the country while others left their farms and ran for security. All the farms within five miles from the forest edge were left to Mau Mau who drove thousands of ,

cattle to the forest for their food.

When

the

Government

forces

tried to follow the cattle in the forest, they

unknowingly fell into the ambushers traps who surprisingly opened automatic fires on them, in many occasions killing them all and gaining arms, ammunition and clothing mainly the Government uniform which was used by the Mau Mau fighters to help them to approach the enemies deceived by their own uniforms.

—

On

the other hand,

Kenya was

ripe for independence,

whose

demand brought the revolt and only granting self-government to Kenya would bring harmony again, I thought. When Kenya gets its independence, the people who have fought against the oppresGovernment would become very famous and their history would be immortal to the Kenya African Government. ‘But I have already been employed as a warrior when I took the 2nd oath. I am not a coward my grandfather was a great warrior.’ I remem-

sive

;

bered his kiembo, the story of the white

man

he had told me, and

NO ROOM cast

my

THE MIDDLE

cattle while fighting for

curiosity

were

my

had increased

than to hear them.

I

living

land.

my

‘I

where I believed and feeding on European

will join them.’ In

my

life,

anxiety to witness events rather

Kenya revolution by made my minds to visit

decided to record the

witnessing the events in the forest.

Mahiga

H3

eyes on Karari’s Hill in the Aberdare,

that thousands of warriors

my

IN

the following day for

my

I

arrangements before

I left

for the

forest. I

arrived

home

at 6 p.m. Feeling tired,

I

asked

my

wife to give

me warm

water for a bath. By 7 p.m. the group that guards me had not arrived. The new headman was conducting a night patrol with them. At 8 p.m., a gang of 21 men, armed with four rifles, three shotguns, one .22 gun, one pistol and one .44 gun, and led

by Mathenge Kihuni, arrived at my house from Kigumo Forest. Three of the warriors were persons I had directed to the forest less than a month ago.

Mathenge Kihuni told me, in a friendly way, that he had been sent by Stanley Mathenge to take me to the forest for some discussion with him and his committee. I had no alternative but to go. I gave my wife 200s. and told her to take it to George Maagu, a man who had been selling me his land and whom I had [already] advanced 150s. I asked my wife to be shown a piece of land by the man which she could cultivate and get food during my absence. Without any preparation, I tied up my blankets and some clothings, bid my wife and my little daughter goodbye and set off leaving my bicycle to Johnson Ndungu. for the forest It was 8:15 p.m. when I left my house and after a short distance we stood and Mathenge Kihuni divided his gang into five groups composed of four persons. He remained in the group I was, making

—

six persons.

He

ordered the groups to collect food, clothing, money,

matemo

and the recruits from the persons in in a a.m. charge of the area. He told them where to meet at home near the forest boundary. We departed and made our way toward that home. On our arrival we met many girls who had brought food to that home, which was used as one of the forest suppliers. Inside the house were three big fat rams which we slaughtered and cooked. When the groups arrived they had 25 recruits who carried heavy bundles. We could not carry all the raw foodstuffs that the villagers had brought [and] Mathenge made a promise of coming again to collect the food. medicine, news

(

)

1

—

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

144

We

set off for the forest,

a gang of 47 persons. At dawn, we could

hear the cocks growing in the reserve as

wet least I

Before continuing

forest.

story

it is

entered the dark, cold,

necessary to give you at

a general picture of Nyandarua, or the Aberdare Forest. As

have lived

years

my

we

I

From

in this forest,

and

travelled widely there, for over

would certainly present you with a southern reaches in the

its

tapering extremes in the north

Nyandarua

real picture. District to

its

—Nderagwa, near Thomson’s

some 120

stretches

Kiambu

miles. Its

two

narrow Falls

width measures approxi-

mately 50 miles in that section of the forest which separates the Kikuyu districts of Nyeri and Fort Hall from the [European] Settled Areas of the Rift Valley.

Nyandarua from either the plains of the Rift Valley or the hilly regions of the Kikuyu Reserve, one passes through the forest fringe and into the wide belt of coniferous indigenous ‘black’ forest which is extremely thick in parts so that no weed can grow and contains large numbers of forest animals who drink from the many streams and rivers and feed on the forest growth or on one another. This region gradually Going up the

1 1

,000 foot height of

changes into thickets of bushes is

the real

large

home

herds

gazelles,

of

wild

of all the wild rhinos,

hogs,

cheetahs, hyenas,

all

along the northern border. This

game

elephants,

sykes,

and many

where you find deer, bush bucks,

in this forest,

buffaloes,

colobus monkeys, baboons,

leopards,

Emergency, this area was appointed for Royal National Park and one would enjoy the scenery and look at these animals who survived from bombing death and all sorts of air raids.) Unlike the rest of the forest, this

is

the only

food, while the cold

warm

others. (In fact, after the

place and has

and dense

much growth

forest hinders the

for animal

growth of

their

food in other areas.

Above the ‘black’ forest lies the thick bamboo forest belt which in places is more than 15 miles wide. In the maze and tangle of bamboo, standing as high as 30 feet in its middle and decreasing to mere bamboo bushes in its either ends, travel was difficult if not impossible for those

who

didn’t

know

it

intimately and in detail.

One

could hardly see beyond ten yards. The sun never shines in this area and it is extremely difficult to know east or west without a compass. The bamboos in a considerably large area are alike. In many occasions a person found himself surprisingly standing at his starting point after six or so hours of continuous walk.

The

only

NO ROOM

IN

THE MIDDLE

1

paths are those on ridges, formerly used by honey collectors

45

who

had hung thousands of beehives on the trees, or those which had been made by animals moving from one place or region to another or the aimless ones made by the animals while herding. With no signs to guide ones movement, it is easy to get hopelessly lost. Even when one knew his way movement was made difficult and dangerous by sharp cutting leaves and pointed new shoots of the bamboos on the paths and the ever-present danger of charging rhinos. Nevertheless, the difficulties and dangers of travel in the bamboo forests made them excellent places for us to set up our camps. While we came to know a given section very well and learnt to move rapidly through the dark tangle of bamboos, we knew from experience that it provided us with an extremely good defence against attacks from the inexperienced security forces. Moving through the bamboo forest one comes to the cold grassland flat-topped area known as the Moorlands, which stretches about 75 miles in length. Here, amongst many ponds and swamps, small bushes here and there, and with patches of forest and grassgrowth beneath, life was made very difficult by the extreme cold. Clouds often cover the area very close to the ground and, combining with strong winds, make it damp and cold. During the nights, all the dew freezes to ice which would start melting when heated by the sun or in the cold months remain covered by ice near the high peaks. The [twin] peaks of Nyandarua stand a little over 13,000 feet above sea level. Though we travelled the Moorlands and used it for certain purposes, such as storing foodstuffs and trapping the animals which fed on that ever-green grass, we seldom set up permanent camps there. When strong operations were held in the ‘black’ and bamboo regions we occasionally moved in this area which supplied us with meat and honey and gave us chances of seeing the enemies approaching far away

in the grass-

lands.

In addition to large rivers such as Chania, the forests of

streams. It

is

Nyandarua are

filled

with

Gura and Marewa,

many

smaller rivers and

not surprising to find 20 or more such streams

we

in

an

up our camps near one of these cold, clear, silent flowing streams, which provided us with cooking water as well as fish from the big streams. High in the mountain these rivers and streams are extremely cold and freezing to death or drowning was a danger of which we were all aware particuarea of one mile. Usually

set

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

146 larly

when one

of the larger rivers

had

to

be crossed during the

flooding season. All the various types of wild animals in the forest friends with the exception of the rhinos,

which we

became our

called

‘Home

Guards’ because of their brutality and willingness to destroy human life. They became accustomed to our presence and smell and, after

a few months in the of animal

life

forest,

and we

they treated us as simply another form

in turn learnt all their habits

and

calls.

This

proved extremely useful to us in detecting the presence or approach of strangers. Security forces entering the home of the animals smell-

and laundered clothing were greeted with many danger and warning signals or calls from the animals. In many cases they were charged by rhinos, elephants and buffaloes. The deer, monkeys and ndete birds with their acute sense of smell and sight [respectively], were our best guards against the encroachment of strangers or enemies. Whenever we observed these animal warnings we sent out our scouts to investigate. Almost without exception, we found the warnings of our ‘allies’ to be accurate and ing of soap, cigarettes

because of

this assistance

prohibiting the killing of friendly

comed

we passed animals who had

they rendered us,

a

strict rule

kindly wel-

us into their home.

These forests then, while cold and damp and with thunder storms and heavy rains during most of the year, became the home of over 20,000 men and women revolters fighting for the Kenya African Freedom. Many, like myself, lived and fought in Nyandarua for two, three or even four years. For us, these forests became a home and a fortress as well as the provider for our most basic needs.

PART

The

II

Fight in the Forest

CHAPTER

IX

NYANDARUA: THE EARLY MONTHS Karar

i

of

several

did not enter the Aberdares, or

months

Nyandarua

after the outbreak of

open

,

until

May

hostilities. It

might be useful at this point, therefore, to consider some of the major features and developments of this formative period as diey relate to early forest groupings and the emergent patterns of peasant resistance. Let us briefly, then, shift our attention back to the period between October 1952 and April 1953. It has already been noted that as Government pressure mounted during the first few months of the emergency, a growing stream of Kikuyu, Embu and Meru peasants began drifting into the bush or forested areas bordering their homes. This

movement was

slow, sporadic and, at least in the early stages,

unorganized.

was by and large a reaction

It

to external stimuli

rather than the unfolding of a well-laid plan for revolutionary action or guerrilla warfare.

In general terms, this movement to the forests might be described as a ‘withdrawal’, stimulated in the

main by

fear of

Government repressive measures and reprisals. Obviously, however, there was a considerable range of variation with respect to individual motives and specific external stimuli. Fear was frequently combined with anger, with a desire to fight back or retaliate or with a sense of mission, a dedication to the Movement and the struggle of ‘right’ against ‘might’. As with all revolutions, less lofty motives could also be

found

—such

as the

power or material advantage. In most with Karari, a number of these factors combined in

desire for personal safety, cases, as

varying degree within a single individual.

mind, we might look at some of the more concrete conditions which led to the entrance of certain segments of the population into the forests. First, let us consider Bearing

this in

those individuals

who

entered the forest with the positive idea of

preparing and organizing a military struggle against the adver149

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

150 sary.

Many

after

by Government and two such men, Stanley Mathenge and

men

held prior positions of importance in the Movement at the district or divisional level as organizers and/or oath administrators. Some were being actively sought of these

Dedan Kimathi, prices

on

entered the Aberdares in

their heads. Like others

the fight, these

men were

inspired,

December 1952 with

who went early to organize among other things, by a per-

sonal sense of mission along with a firm conviction that their

cause was just and that their God, Ngai, would

assist

them

in the

and freedom. A larger section of youths and young men entered the forests in several stages. Having taken the Warrior’s Oath and being active in local militant wings, these men were a primary target of Government’s security forces. At first, they remained at home during the day, carrying out their normal economic and domestic tasks, and assumed the role of fighters only at night. For many, however, this life became fraught with too much danger and they began hiding in the nearby bush during the day, returning to their homes at night to carry out raids on guard posts and Government loyalists’ stock, to eliminate informers and traitors and to assist in the administration of oaths. As more and more security forces poured into the Central Province, however, and night patrols and Government raids on suspects’ homes instruggle for land

creased,

many

of these small groups

moved

into local forested

areas or, where they adjoined the locations, into the forest fringes

Mount Kenya and the Aberdares. For the most men shared the militant outlook of the early forest of

part, these

organizers.

Some, however, were attracted also, and perhaps equally, by the safety and protection traditionally afforded by the forest. Another segment of the youth were administered the Warriors’ Oath and recruited directly into groups already based in the forests. The decision as to whether or not they should go was thus largely removed from their own hands. While refusal at this point, after voluntarily taking the 2nd Oath, would have been tantamount to betrayal, most needed no such threat, as the dangers of remaining in their home locations were seen as greater by far than the portending life in the forests.

A

comprised largely of urban and White Highland repatriates, were driven to the forest as much by hunger as by any other factor. Most were landless and many had fourth element,

nyandarua: the early months lost

what

little

151

had possessed through Government or Herded into hastily erected district centers,

stock they

settler confiscation.

many were

faced with the alternatives of starvation, a life of petty crime or entering the forests to fight for their food. Several

thousand chose

this

latter

course and entered the Aberdares

from the European Settled Areas or a short time in the Kikuyu Reserve. either directly

Finally, there are those

of

fear of remaining in

who

after spending

entered the forest primarily out

the reserve.

Collective punishments,

by the security forces and the fears and frustrations generated by the dual role forced upon most passive supporters of the Movement, simply drove these peasants into the forests. Their flight was thus motivated largely by an urge to escape the dangers of rural life for the relative protection offered by the forest. Few realized that the struggle might last two or three years. Most were thinking in terms of a few months; they would thus ‘wait it out’, in much the same manner as in the past their people would have awaited the end of a Masai raid. In this sector of the forest population belong most of the girls, women and older men ... as well as some of the more frightened youth. Once there, most would participate actively in the forest struggle; many, however, continued to place primary importance on personal safety and forced confessions, general mistreatment

survival.

Of

the several thousand Kikuyu,

Embu and Meru

tribesmen

educated were notably conspicuous in their absence. Karari, having completed two years of high school, was to my knowledge the most educated man in the forest forces of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares. While to enter the forests

during

this early period, the

some of the men had had three or four years of formal schooling and a few had completed the eight year primary course, the youths, men, girls, women and vast majority of guerilla fighters were illiterate peasants, many of whom had never been elders beyond the local station.

—

How

—

does one account for this fact considering that the

Kikuyu are generally acknowledged the most educated and ‘advanced’ or acculturated of all Kenya African peoples? While it is true that the actual percentage of educated Kikuyu was very low, despite their comparatively high standing alongside other tribes, this does not really explain their total absence from

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

152 the forest. It

is

also true to say that virtually all high-ranking

educated leaders were removed by Government before the drift to the forests began. But what of the many school teachers, clerks, journalists, medical assistants, etc., who were not detained during the first few months of the emergency? The answer, 1 believe, involves a number of factors which here deserve brief mention. As previously noted, the general socio-cultural ambivalence

Kikuyu yielded a highly equivocal position on the part of the latter vis-a-vis the underground movement. Opposed to colonial rule and generally supporting the political objectives of the Movement, the educated tended nevertheless to be against those aspects of the oath and Movement which seemed to them a degrading return to the past. During the critical months following the emergency declaration, therefore, of the educated

it

is

not surprising that ambivalent feelings such as these led

many

educated Kikuyu into the position of ‘moderates’, wishing to wait it out on the sidelines rather than join the guerrilla forces gathering in the forests. Some joined the ranks of the passive supporters, a larger number gravitated toward a pro-Government, ‘loyalist’, position and many, at least for a time, played both sides simultaneously in a pragmatic effort to stay alive. The educated Kikuyu, in addition, generally had more to lose in the way of jobs, wages, security, status, etc., than the less fortunate landless peasant or unemployed worker. Many held jobs with Government agencies, schools, hospitals or private firms that provided a standard of living which, if indeed very low in

was considerably higher than that of most of their illiterate brethren. Not only were they thus more susceptible to Government propaganda, but working and residing as many did outside the main areas of recruitment, they were considerably less subject to the social pressures exerted upon others to guarantee their loyalty and active participation in the Moveabsolute terms,

ment. Finally,

it is

also possible that a significant

number

of educated

Africans were highly sceptical about the chances of resisting, let alone vanquishing, the armed might of the British with an odd assortment of pangas simis, home-made guns and a few pre,

cision

enemy

weapons. While

many an

peasant believed the to consist of only a few thousand white settlers, the illiterate

nyandarua: the early months

153

educated were in a better position to assess the actual strength of the colonial government. Though more likely an after-the-fact rationalization, perhaps it was only the uneducated peasant, spurred by a confidence in Ngai’s assistance not fully shared by the educated, who could muster the courage to attempt the ‘impossible’.

Let us

now

look at

some

of the general features of early forest

must be realized that there was a good deal of local variation and general confusion. Nevertheless, certain generalizations can be made which apply, I believe, to the vast majority of groups which entered or were formed in the forests of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares during the three to four month period following the emergency groups. In considering this formative period,

it

declaration.

Comprised largely of youth and young men who had taken the Warrior or Batuni Oath, and frequently including a few girls, women and elders, these early groups ranged in size from fifteen to fifty or so members. Recruitment, though based explicitly on the 2nd Oath, had an implicit territorial aspect in that most groups contained persons drawn from a single sublocation or location in the reserve or area in the Rift Valley.

Organization was loose in the sense that there was no clear-cut division of labor, hierarchy of roles or differential privileges. Where women were involved, however, they normally performed their customary domestic tasks of cooking and fetching firewood and water; new recruits might also be given the more

arduous task of carrying supplies from the reserve to the forest. Though overall strategy and long-range aims were either absent or very confused during this period, most groups evolved similar tactical patterns and immediate objectives. Concerned primarily with conditions and events in their

home

locations,

most groups established themselves in adjacent sections of the forest fringe. The fact that not all locations bordered the forest helps explain why some groups remained within the reserve, retreating to the forests only when pursued by security forces. Hiding within the forests during the day, these groups would re-enter the locations at night to collect needed supplies, gather information, visit kith and kin, participate in oathing ceremonies, recruit new members, raid Home Guard posts or loyalists’ stock

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

154

and eliminate known traitors. To unify the community, both through the oath and the elimination of pro-Government elements, was a primary objective of most fighting groups since it guaranteed the greatest possible security under existing circumstances for both themselves and their supporters and facilitated the acquisition of supplies and recruits. In many instances, near as in or total support was achieved, with Home-Guards Karari’s village and even headmen being active members of the Movement. In structure, the forest groups of this period were quite simple. Integration existed, for the most part, only at the primary level, with relations between individual members of each group being articulated by a chosen leader. Normally, such leaders were selected on the basis of their demonstrated abilities, popularity, reputation, previous position in the Movement or some combination of these factors. The process of selection was informal, much as in pre-colonial times, and was usually accomplished through simple consensus. The responsibilities of a leader toward his followers, and their loyalty to him, were in most cases reinforced by strong kin and neighborhood ties. The position of leader was not ordinarily circumscribed by any special privileges during this period; nor did those holding

—

—

such a position normally possess a formal

title

or rank. Their

powers were confined largely to camp-site selection, the allocation of tasks and tactical matters though in the latter sphere some groups contained a seer or mando mugo who, as in the traditional age-regiment system, exercised an influence in determining the time and place of raids. Regulatory and adjudicative powers and procedures were neither formalized nor consistent from group to group. decision-making

—

As

to their relations with other groups within the

Movement, the only formal link maintained by these early forest groups was with their respective sub-location or location groups and councils.

We

have already indicated the basic operational features

of this relationship,

as regards supplies,

information, recruits,

important to note the supporting role assumed by most local groups vis-a-vis their respective fighting groups. While the warrior-wings were originally subordinate to their local counetc.,

but

cils,

the revolutionary situation tended to reverse this relation-

it

is

nyandarua: the early months ship,

155

with elders’ councils becoming increasingly subordinate to

militant group leaders.

As the

an important aspect of any guerrilla war, it might be mentioned here that the Government policy of collective punishment tended to make the local councils somewhat more conservative than fighting-group leaders. This is understandable, since a raid or killing in the sub-location often brought swift Government retaliation, the brunt of which was suffered by the civilian community.

relation of fighting units to supporting masses

Collective

fines,

the

confiscation

of

livestock,

is

harsh

forms of interrogation, arrest and internment in concentration camps were some of the punishments inflicted upon passive supporters.

To

avoid such repressive measures,

many

local coun-

sought to retain some measure of control over the fighting groups. This was particularly true in Kiarnbu, where the district cils

council of elders prohibited the killing of loyalists or traitors

without council consent and for some time retained their control over the guerrilla units.

During

between the various fighting groups within the forest, reserve and Rift Valley were unstructured and contact between them was slight and sporadic. At the outset, few even realized that groups similar to their own existed or were being formed in other areas. A similar situation prevailed regarding forest-group relations with Nairobi groups and councils. In the city, the initial shock and confusion which set in after the emergency declaration were just beginning to clear in the early months of *953-

A

this early period, relations

number

might be said to have conditioned the further integration of forest groups and the formation of large, permanent camp-clusters. Not least among these was a structural tendency toward unification grounded in the fact that all revolutionary forest groups were faced with both a common set of life-circumstances and a structurally unified enemy. The tendency here, as in comparable situations of social conflict, was for opposing groups to assume a common level of structural complexity. This tendecy was reinforced among guerrilla forces both by the shared ideological base and central-command orientation of the Movement prior to the emergency and by the traditional Kikuyu pattern whereby military age-regiments cut of factors

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

156 across

and linked the various

local

communities within a sub-

tribe.

Another, and perhaps more concrete, factor lay in the desire of many small forest groups to attach themselves to leaders of demonstrated ability and wide-spread reputation. By March of I 953, several men in different sections of the forest had gained repute through their daring in raids, organizational abilities or the strength of their particular units. These leaders tended to

and individual fighters who obviously felt their own strength and security thereby increased. Finally, there was the obvious advantage to be gained from a concentration of fire-power. Most forest groups were very short of arms and ammunition and hence sought either to merge with other groups or establish some working relationship which allowed for the maximum concentration of arms for both offensive and defensive purposes. The prevailing military situation tended to foster this development. During the early months of 1953, the Aberdares and Mount Kenya were the unquestioned domain of the revolutionary forces. Government had established no permanent bases in either area, heavy bombings had not yet begun and security force attempts to carry the fight against the insurgents into the forest were feeble and generally ineffective. Under such conditions, the growth and integration of forest forces was both feasible and desirable, increasing security and offensive capacity and mitigating some of the more severe transportation and communication difficulties. The small, loosely organized forest units thus began to give way toward the end of this formative period to larger, more attract other groups

tightly organized groupings concentrated within a large,

permanent camp-clusters.

number

of

CHAPTER

X

KIGUMO CAMP Located

Aberdare Range, just south of the Gura River, Kigumo provides an excellent example of the large, permanent camp-clusters which began to take form in February or March of 1953. While Kiambu is regarded by most Kikuyu as the ‘brains’ of the tribe, Nyeri is viewed as the ‘spear’ or ‘brawn’ and has traditionally been the most militant of the Kikuyu districts. It is perhaps no accident, therefore, that in the Nyeri section of the

Nyeri contributed 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the estimated 15,000-man-strong guerrilla force which was operating in the Aberdares by July 1953 and produced the revolution’s most

prominent leaders and organizers. As with so products and ideas of this period,

many

other Nyeri

Kigumo Camp was

to provide

a model and example for fighting groups in other sections of the forest.

Karari’s vivid recollection of

Kigumo

as

it

existed in

May

major changes in structure and organization which had taken place among Aberdare groups over the preceding few months. From the small, relatively isolated and loosely 1953

illustrates the

organized groups of forest fighters there developed large, per-

manent camp-clusters within which, and

largely as a product

numbers, the division of labor, differentiation of and hierarchy of military ranks became formalized and

of increasing roles

made

explicit in a

number

of rules, regulations

and procedures.

Each camp within a cluster, though retaining its own leaders and identity, now shared in the responsibility of maintaining a joint supply and sentry system and collaborated in the planning and execution of raids. The numerical growth and integration of Aberdare groups was not a haphazard affair. Just as the small groups of the earlier period were comprised largely of persons from the same village or sub-location, so were the large camp-clusters made up in the main of persons and groups from the same location or 157

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

158

Kigumo Camp,

division.

was comprised with few

for example,

exceptions of persons from the Tetu Location of Nyeri; a loca-

which bordered the

tion

forest

and contained a pre-emergency

population of over 20,000. This territorial basis of recruitment

and integration was conditioned by a number ing

(1)

of factors, includ-

the desire of persons to unite with friends, neighbors and

kinsmen,

the

(2)

family, land,

system,

remain

(4)

community

of local interests

and

fears regarding

Home

Guards, etc., (3) the local basis of the supply the proximity in the forest of groups wishing to

close to their

home

locations

and

(5)

the Movement’s

prior segmentation along territorial lines.

The formation

May

1953, just prior to Karari’s journey to the Aberdares, of a Nyeri district council and army i.e., the

Utuma Ndemi

in

Trinity

—

Council and Ituma

Ndemi Army

and tended to crystalize this territorial segmentation of forest forces. Not only was Nyeri District set off from the other Kikuyu districts, but internal segmentation was based on existreflected

ing administrative divisions within the in

ITUMA

Mathira

Thus the letters Tetu, Uthaya and

district.

symbolized ‘The Warriors of

Divisions’.

Through

the district council, comprised of

all

Nyeri

forest

leaders, formal links or relations

were established between some forty guerrilla units containing almost 6,000 fighters by the end of June 1953 ^is process of integration, certain decisionmaking, adjudicative and enforcement powers, held originally by the numerous small-group leaders, were relinquished first to camp-cluster leaders, heading informal councils of section heads, and then to the Nyeri district council. Council officers were elected by the Nyeri forest leaders and a military chain-of-command established when the Council Chairman, Stanley Mathenge, was chosen to head the Ituma Ndemi Army and the rank of General was issued to six of the major camp-cluster leaders. An important principle established here was that military rank be conferred on the basis of position within -

Thus the Chairman of the Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council became almost automatically the head of the Ituma Ndemi Army and other office bearers were likewise given high the Council.

military rank. Again, these

new

and

at least in part to confirm or concretize

ranks, positions within the military hierarchy were

KIGUMO CAMP

159

circumscribed by differential privileges and symbols and the highly egalitarian nature of the early forest groups was thus mitigated.

We

continued our journey in the darkness climbing up the Kian-

dongoro ridge and by sunrise we were a mile inside the forest. Here, the road passes through a forest plantation of pines patulla. Thousands of acres of indigenous coniferous trees have been cleared

by the

whom

an acre was allocated to each to cultivate for only three years and then the Forest Department forest squatters to

planted timber

trees,

shifting

the squatters

into

another dense

forest to clear.

As we moved through maize fields, though all the crops had been destroyed by the Government so that the forest fighters may not feed on them, one cannot hesitate to admire that fertile land with its layer of black humus ranging from six inches to more than a foot in many places, on which grows such healthy and fruitful crops. We soon came to Kiandongoro, an evacuated village on security reasons, and there on the border between the dense forest and the bamboo region stood a small Kiandongoro Forest School with stone foundation, slab walls and shingled roof in which monkeys and baboons had become the ‘pupils.’ After a short walk on the ridge road, we turned to the south and started descending the slopes of the Gura River which forms the fertile

Kigumo

valley at

its

bottom.

We

were then entering

more dense bamboos measuring five to six inches in diameter at the bottom and more than twenty-five feet high. The soil could not be seen as the ground was covered by a layer of dry bamboo leaves and footprints could not be traced. The area is covered by

many springs with clear, cold-running water. The made a halt signal and we all stopped. He thrice

leading person whistled like a

and received a reply by the same call. This was to inform the guards of our approach so that they would not regard us as enemies. There stood six armed guards. We shook hands, reported the country news, they gave us a password, ‘kilima,’ and we left. After 200 yards walk we stopped again and two persons were sent to call Mutobachini, the leader of the camp. He came

certain night bird

with three armed warriors [and] after greeting,

we

left

a quarter

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

l6o

raw food we had carried there to be stored. I learnt that was the supplies camp, though we did not see it. At midday we sat down by one of the streams and took our lunch, which was boiled rams meat and some cooked vegetables from the reserve. Mathenge Kihuni who was leading the group knew me as a leader and treated me as his equal. We had a little rest during lunch time, through which I had a chance of observing every type of precision weapon they had and learned how to operate it and the terms used for them. Makar a (‘charcoal’) meant of the

Mwaki

ammunition, equalled

(‘fire’)

Gatua uhoro

pistol,

equalled gun,

Kamwaki

(‘the decider’)

was used

(‘small

fire’)

for the [big]

game

shooting guns ranging from .375 to .450, Bebeta [from a Swahili term, pepeta, meaning to winnow or sift] equalled Sten

Makombora (‘the destroyer’) meant Bren gun. After lunch we continued our journey. I noticed

gun,

only one person was leading our way.

He was

that all the time

supposed to know

more about the forest on the grounds that before the emergency he had been visiting the forest for the purpose of hunting or collecting honey from both bee hives and the forest trees. A person who had such knowledge was called muirigo literally meaning ‘a clear ,

forest path.’

At

2 p.m.

we

crossed the River

Gura

in

Kigumo

Valley about

from the reserve boundary. Half an hour later we found a wide path made by our fighters which came from eight miles

Kigumo

Forest squatters’ gardens to the

Kigumo camps. The path

was strategically made up through a steep rocky slope which ended on a flat natural bench at the edge [of which was] a big fig tree where the guards stood. The enemies’ bullets could not catch the guards while the guards had all the chances of shooting the enemy. Before we started climbing the steep slope the guards’

—our

—

muirigo

gave a password, ‘Hiti,’ which literally means hyena. The six guards were armed with one Sten gun, one two-barrelled .44 gun, two .303 rifles, one shot gun and the last guard had two grenades and a simi [a double-edged tradichallenging

tional

we

area

Kikuyu

sword]. After exchanging greeting

entered the gate

[i.e.,

pathway] for the

first

and a

little

talk

camp some 400

yards ahead.

At

3 p.m.

we

arrived at the camp. It

had more than thirty rain Each shelter had four poles;

shelters

where these people

the

pair six feet high while the hind pair was five feet high.

first

slept.

1

KIGUMO CAMP

1

[Each shelter was rectangular, measuring approximately 12

6

feet

and having a 9 foot depth.] The roof, built of bamboo splits and made to overlap a pair of joints, looked liked a tiled roof from the inside. The outer side of the roof was covered by bamboo bulks which provided a satisfactory rain proof. The walls were uncovered. The ground had been slightly levelled and bamboo leaves spread on the ground made a mattress. In the middle of the camp were two big kitchens measuring about twice the size of a hut. Two girls, a woman and three men were busy boiling some meat in two tins and a big saucepan; all the time taking much care that no smoke could be seen by an airplane. Thin dry bamboo splits were used to keep the fire burning without smoke. There were two leaders’ houses seven by seven feet; the only ones which had walls to protect [against] wind and cold, this being the only difference from the others. This section dressed in the normal clothes but seemed to have lasted more than three months without washing or changing. It was rainy season and all the area was wet and muddy. More than forty warriors wore the police uniform of black raincoats and hats. The camp had a lot of cattle beef well hanged on trees and the nine thousand foot altitude was a very good refrigerator which prevented the meat from going bad. The camp was very clean, all the bones were heaped on a bamboo table; some long split bamboos were used as pipes to bring water right inside the kitchen. Mathenge Kihuni introduced me to the section leader, General Nyama. Then, sitting in his room, [the latter] ordered some meat for us. He said that he preferred the food we had brought from the reserve and that he would like it fried with a lot of fat. We were given a cows cold tongue which I thought was boiled the night before. After eating we were given hot soup which had a half-bitter taste of wild herbs which were supposed to increase health and remedy some diseases. When I wanted to help myself at a short call, I was given a panga and instructed to dig a hole and cover across the front

properly

my

excreta.

I

learned that to be one of the

camp

rules.

While we were talking with General Nyama, I asked him how I could see Stanley Mathenge as I had been called by him. He hesitated. ‘No newcomer in this forest is allowed to see Mathenge or Kimathi until he has completed seven days. You can only see him at his own consent.’ Then Mathenge Kihuni confirmed that he knew very well that I had been called by Stanley Mathenge

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

l62

and that he was the person who was sent for me. Nyama said that Mathenge was living at the Headquarters Kariaini and that it was very likely that he had accompanied Kimathi to Murang’a (Fort Hall). Mathenge Kihuni confirmed that they had left for Murang’a and that they would not stay long there. At this juncture the guard commander interrupted by announcing permission for the camp to collect firewood. General Nyama went out to give some instructions.

By

was accompanied by two

the time he returned, he

Wanjau and Githae Mugweru;

leaders,

supplied medicine to

him and

from the Settled Area

me

invited

me

that Wanjau’s

whether

me

I

to his

very

camp about 300 six

that each of the three

We

He was

camp was 300

had seen the

main entrance

his friend.

Guard’s patrol,

I

They had both escaped

after receiving severe beatings for being

oath administrator suspects.

and he

had fed and

the latter a person

Home

taken care of in hiding during a

section

much

pleased to see

yards west.

yards south uphill.

guards under the big

camps sends two

fig

me

He also told He asked me tree. He told

sentries to

guard the

of their camps.

arrived in his

camp when

all

people had gathered in the

camp to say their evening prayers. Then, all facing Mount Kenya with some soil in our right hands, one person said

center of the

our prayers

God, the most powerful We praise thee for guarding us throughout the day. We have raised our hands to show you that the soil you gave our forefathers is now being used by strangers who have robbed us of our lands, our gift and inheritance. These strangers are killing us for our lands. God, mercifully look upon the spilt blood of our brethren and hear our call and cry. We have no weapons to fight against these people but we believe that thy sword will defeat our enemies for we are your sons and

Oh

daughters,

!

we

believe that

you did not create us

so that

we

might become servants of other people in the lands you blessed to our Father Gikuyu and Mumbi. God, close the enemies eyes so that they will not see our people who have gone in search of food and let our warriors who have set off for raids defeat our enemies by surprise. Bless our dinner, keep us, guide us and guard us from all diseases. Bless the water, honey, fruits

and vegetables of

this

mountain

so

KIGUMOCAMP may become good

that they

food for

us.

163 Let

all

the animals in

become our friends. We now remember our oppressed people in the reserve, prisons and detention camps. We pray for all our leaders, those who are leading us in the forests and in the camps. We pray you for our leader Jomo Kenyatta, guard and guide him. Grant him power to defeat the enemy so that he may lead us rightly in the land you gave and blessed to our parents Gikuyu and Mumbi. We pray you thus believing that you will hear us, our merciful Father, in the name of Gikuyu and Mumbi. this forest

We

‘

ended together by saying three times Thaai thathaiya Ngai thai which means, ‘We praise Thee oh God,’ or ‘God’s all

,

peace be with

us.’

Mr. Githae introduced me to his people, most of whom knew me and asked me to give a speech. As I was tired and unprepared, I only encouraged them that we were going to win our battle. Many of them surrounded me asking [about] home news and how their relatives were. The camp had four girls and three women and a few old men who were the elders. By this time the fires were made and I moved in Githae’s hut which proved to me that the two camps had been built from the same plan. We kept warming ourselves talking of different raids while we awaited for dinner. Soon a fat cow’s hump, well roasted, was brought to us on a plate. We ate to our satisfaction, followed by the same kind of hot soup half bittered by wild I

estimated the persons

I

saw

to be 300.

herbs.

As we kept talking with Githae, I learned that each of the three camps had an average of 360 persons and that the recruits were distributed

equally

among

the

three camps.

I

also

General Kahiu-Itina was the head of those camps.

I

learnt

that

knew him

as

an ordinary carpenter before he entered the forest and by that time he had accompanied Mathenge and Kimathi to Murang’a. I asked Githae to teach me the signals and terminology they were using. He then went on, ‘If you meet a green branch planted in

the middle of a path, that

means do not pass

there, there

is

danger ahead. If you meet two green branches dropped on either side of a path or bent, that means that the camp is near and you are approaching the guards and that you should give a signal. We whistle like a night-bird which says “ Kuri heho-i ndirara ku ?”

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

164

meaning

(literally

will also reply

“It

your

is

call

where shall I sleep?”). The guards and they would then await a friend and cold,

not an enemy.

‘When you come to the sight of the guards, they would shout to you “Number!” [in English]. If you replied “Seven,” they would know that you are an enemy because our people would only reply “ in Kikuyu, Mugwonja ,” meaning seven. Then the guard would say “Pass!” which really did not mean that you were allowed to approach the guards as an English speaking [person] would interpret, but that only asks you to shout the camp’s password or if you are from another camp, you shout the name of the camp and its leader.

The camp passwords

which are changed

tains,

‘Short sharp whispers

are

names

of trees, animals or

moun-

daily. hss,

[e.g.

hss,

indicate the enemy’s

hss]

?

approach or something quiet

He

to be observed, while long [low hisses]

mean

’ !

also taught

(plural) or

unranked [as did]

me some

terminology

non-commissioned

fighters]; Ihii cia

n jamb a cia ita;

Mau Man; Kiama

:

officers [the

muhitu meant

nyomu

itungati

meant warriors

meaning here

is

actually

‘forest boys’ or warriors

nditu , ‘the heavy animal,’

meant

meant The Council which is Searching Freedom [i.e., The Freedom Seeking Council, a name used briefly by the new Nairobi leadership]; mbuci meant camp [pronounced bushi and derived from the English ‘bush’]; kariiguri ‘it is up,’ meant an airplane is approaching; Gatimu (‘small spear’), Gatheci (‘sharp instrument’) and Gathugo (‘a throwing weapon’) meant Home Guard and was derived from itimu meaning large spear [stemming from the fact that Home Guards were initially armed with spears]; Kenya Ng’ombe meant Kenya Regiment personnel [ng’ombe, meaning ‘cow’ in Swahili was the Kenya Regiment emblem], and icakuri (singular, gicakuri, ‘a heavy pitchfork’) was used to mean any Government military Kiria Kiracoria Wiathi

,

personnel. It

was

interesting to hear all those

had invented. He

also told

me some

names of the

that the forest people

camp

rules

:

Everyone must wake up before dawn, just the time when birds begin their morning songs (which were regarded as their prayers) and all together say our morning prayers. clothes, blankets, cup, (2) Everyone must hide his belongings (1)

—

KIGUMO CAMP plate

and spoon,

etc.

—and

the

165

persons

for

the

select

two

responsible

camp’s utensils or such must also hide them. (3) The Guard Commander at each camp would

morning who would be replaced at mid-day by a second group that would guard the camp’s entry till sunset. As darkness was one of our guards, only a few persons were requested to pay attention to any approach while the others rested or chatted around fires. (4) The Guard Commanders would check arms and ammunition always when new sentries were to take over. (5) Nobody was to light any fire during the day for the purpose of warming or cooking without the Guard Commander’s permission as its smell and smoke could betray the camp to the enemy. (6) Nobody was allowed to go out of the camp without a written pass which he would show the guards while leaving or entering any camp. (7) Nobody was allowed to eat any food before it was shared [i.e., distributed] by the head cook. (8) All food must be kept by the camp storekeeper, who issued sentries every

number

out the daily ration every evening according to the

people in the (9)

camp and

of

the [available] supplies in his store.

Nobody was allowed

to stay in the kitchen

if

he were not

a cook.

Nobody was allowed to make any around the camp before 6 p.m. ( 1

o)

No

noises or cut

sexual intercourse was allowed as

down

trees

was believed that [A traditional Kikuyu it would bring calamity to the camp. belief according to which sex was thought to weaken and bring disaster to active warriors and was hence tabooed.] (12) Every person must bury his excreta whenever he or she ( 1 1 )

goes to a short (13)

it

call.

Nobody was allowed

to

go to

[i.e.,

enter] the leader’s

house without his knowledge and consent. (14) The camp’s records must always be up to date Registration,

(ii)

How many

people are out of the

in

(i)

camp and

what are their names, (iii) The sentry duties records, (iv) Raids and spoils records, (v) The arms and ammunition record. (15) All the fires

must be completely covered

roared during the night.

if

an airplane

1

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

66 ( 1

6)

The Guard Commander must

inspect the sentries at

any

time to ensure that they were alert and that they had not fallen

Guards were warned that death was the best punishment for a guard who was found asleep during his sentry hours but caning was the only one imposed. (17) Everyone must obey the camp rules without question

asleep.

or hesitation.

Having learned a bit of signals, terminology and camp rules, I was getting sleepy for I had gone for a very long journey all the day long. Githae called a girl and asked her to make a bed for me in his hut. The recruit who had been carrying my blankets was called and asked to give them to the girl. The altitude, the shelters’ structures, the bamboo-leaf mattress on the cold wet soil and the insufficient

beddings

made my

first

night extremely so cold that

I

wrapped myself with the blankets leaving no entrance for air. The night was cold and silent. At about three in the morning colobus monkeys started a roaring which continued all over the forest for a time. At 4 130, thousands of birds started their morning prayers which they presented in a very sweet music with different notes and pitches from different types of birds. We were all awakened for the morning prayers followed by the Guard Commanders' roster calls for the day’s sentries.

noted that some wore two or three pairs of clothes at the same time, while others had their blankets folded and hung over their I

shoulders under their raincoats. This was to provide

them with warmth and the safety of their belongings in case the enemy took over the camp, would search for any hidden property and destroy or take them. I also noted that only the leaders had hot roasted meat and hot soup for breakfast while others went without. [Each warrior received rations only once a day.] selves

with the

last night’s

They warmed them-

charcoal covered by ashes and could not

was against the camp rules. The sun does not shine at any time under these tall thick bamboos and the area always remained wet and cold. I wanted to know the strength of the camp, and so I asked Githae how many arms they had. He told me that his camp had twenty-nine rifles, five shotguns, two .22 guns, three pistols of which he kept one, a grenade and a dozen banda or homemade guns. ‘The other two camps have almost the same amount because

make

fires as

this

KIGUMO CAMP we

167

share everything equally, but each has a Sten gun with the

exception of

my

camp. But we always arrange our

and food transporting together

guards

that

so

raids,

camp

we can have

sufficient arms.’

At 10 a.m. we visited Wanjau’s camp about 300 yards south uphill. We were escorted by two armed warriors. We didn’t carry the pass letters for the leader was known and respected and the distance was very short. One of our escorts gave signals to the guards and we passed. Like the others, the guards’ houses were built some sixty yards away from the camp and beside the path that led to the camp. All the houses were of the same plan. This camp had a place with sunshine where we found all the people warming themselves. We met Generals Wanjau and Nyama discussing a cattle raid for food. They resolved that they would raid Ihithe Village the following night.

I

expressed

Kariaini Headquarters and they promised

my

wish to get to

me some

escorts

the

following day.

—

The cook was sent to prepare lunch for the leaders some wellfried meat. I came to understand that they would not eat maize or beans, which could be stored for a long time without going

bad, while they had meat which could not be stored for as long a

time before

it

went bad. This must be the reason why

I

have eaten

only meat in these camps.

wanted to know whether the leopards and hyenas ate their meat which they hung on trees. Wanjau told me that all the animals had become friends and that they would neither attack anyone nor eat that meat. He went on, ‘We pray for these animals who have kindly welcomed us in their homes and who have been put in our category by the security forces in other words they I

—

The rhino is our only enemy here inside the forest. We call him ‘Home Guard’ as he resembles those who did not take the oath. But there are no rhinos in the Kigumo Forest. regard us as animals.

We

take

it

for granted that all the rest of the animals

have taken

an oath of allegiance. They have stopped running away from us; in fact the monkey and ndete bird are our guards. They tell us the approach of an

enemy by

their alarms.’

Because these animal alarms were often

many

to believe that

God had

true,

it

made

it

easier for

given them such powers so as to

help us to defeat the enemies approach. This led to the passing of

a rule prohibiting the killing of an animal as

it

was thought that

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

68

if

us

we made

would probably

these animals angry, they

and chase us from

fight against

home. The birds, mice, rats would come eat any food that might have fallen as

their

right in the kitchen to

though they were tamed. Gituyu, a type of big rat, as big as a cat with a two-foot whip-like tail, were so daring that they would eat maize from a person’s hand and were not at all afraid. They broke their allegiance, [however] by going into our stores. They would

much maize as they could and carry as much as they could, as many trips as it were possible for them, to fill their stores in which they buried our maize. They were therefore killed. The sun went behind the western mountains and we were back in the camp saying our evening prayers, after which fires were lit to warm ourselves. Githae proceeded on telling me of the formation of the Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council. He said that on the 25 May, all the leaders sat where we had spent the day and elected the leaders of the Ituma Ndemi Army. ITUMA is a name made

eat as

—

from ‘I’ from /tungati, meaning the warriors, ‘T’ North and South 7 ’etu Divisions of Nyeri, ‘U’

Uthaya Division sion of Nyeri.

and ‘MA’

of Nyeri,

Then

— representing

— representing — representing A/athira Divi-

makes the Trinity of the “arrow head,” referred to an early

the three divisions

Nyeri Army. [Ndemi,

literally

generation-set which

was believed

metal-working and the

to

have invented the art of

metal-tipped weapons.]

first

was told that Stanley Mathenge was elected as the Head of Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council hence the Head of Ituma Ndemi Army and Dedan Kimathi as his Secretary. A few others were I

—

—

elected as Counselors. After the election all the top leaders

left

for

Murang’a and probably I would meet them at H.Q. Kariaini on their way back. At this stage the dinner came, nice pieces of wellroasted meat stuck on short sticks sharpened at both ends. Taking out his small pocket knife to cut the meat, Githae told me that every person in the forest was entitled to have a sword, a knife

and a box ol matches which would enable him to live alone for some days if he happened to lose the others. Some more boiled meat was followed by hot soup. Everyone ate to his satisfaction. After dinner,

we arranged

H.Q. Kariaini early to return to the

asleep.

I

had

to leave the

the following morning, since

camp by

they had could be used fell

that

my

three in the afternoon so

in

camp

for

had that the arms escorts

the cattle raid that evening.

We

then

CHAPTER

XI

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS Kar

i

aini

is

significant in that

it

represents the only permanent

H.Q. camp to be established in the Aberdares as well as the largest and most developed of the camp-clusters which typified this period. In structure and organizational pattern it was similar

Kigumo Camp, though

to

the military hierarchy of roles tended

become more formalized and symbolic status differentiation and privileges more pronounced after the formation of the district council and army. Under the leadership of Stanley Mathenge and Dedan Kimathi, Kariaini was to attract many Nyeri leaders and guerrilla units and became the major center

to

new recruits in this sector of the forest. The rapid increase in numbers along with

for

the development of

a central command tended to diminish, though not eliminate, the importance of territorial segmentation among forest groups. The main H.Q. camp included persons not only from various locations in Nyeri District, but also numerous North Nyeri and

and Kiambu and Meru and even four Luo from the

Rift Valley people as well as several Fort Hall

Kikuyu, a few

Embu

Nyanza Province. In

addition, with

many

leaders acting in a

maintain the security system and allocate supplies, the bonds between those of near or equal rank tended to become strengthened. The relevance of this factor will perhaps become clearer if we focus attention on

concerted fashion

to

coordinate raids,

newly formed Ituma Trinity Council. As indicated earlier, much of the decision-making and adjudicative power previously held by individual section and campcluster leaders was transferred to this district council which, approximating the pattern of traditional Kikuyu elders’ councils, was to meet as the occasion required in order to hear cases, formulate rules and policies, and coordinate military planning and tactics. Though endowed with certain powers, however, it is important to note that the Council lacked what we might term an independent enforcement arm. Thus, while its leader-members certain features of the

169

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

170

voluntarily surrendered to judicial decisions

and pass

it

rights to

rules binding

formulate policy, reach

upon themselves

as indi-

vidual section or camp-cluster leaders, they failed to provide the Council with a force, independent of their own, to guarantee

were carried out. Whether or not the Council’s rulings were implemented, therefore, depended in large measure upon the willing compliance of its leader-members.

that

its

decisions

and

policies

Closely related to this leader, while

primarily riors.

The

now

is

the fact that the authority of each

by Council recognition, still rested he commanded from his own war-

legitimized

upon the latter, in

loyalty

turn recognized the authority of the Council

primarily because of their

own

leader’s

membership and par-

rather than the converse. It

important to note while reading Karari’s account, therefore, that while leaderleader loyalty within the Council was strengthened by the latter’s ticipation in

power

it,

is

by the esprit de corps generated through the Leaders’ Oath and by effective concerted action, this ‘horizontal’ loyalty between leaders was still secondary to to issue military ranks,

the ‘vertical’ loyalty binding leader to followers and, conversely, followers to their leader.

So

we have confined our discussion forces. By June of 1953, however,

far,

rilla

smaller

and

largely to Nyeri guer-

there were

numerous

well-organized forest groups operating out of the Fort Hall and Rift Valley sectors of Nyandarua. Contact less

with some of these groups was established in late

and

May

by Nyeri

was achieved in coordinating their efforts for the June 25th ‘all-out raid’. While the relations thus fashioned were as yet informal and unstructured, they constituted an important prelude to the wider integration of leaders

at least partial success

Aberdare guerrilla

forces.

Outside Nyandarua, some 5,000

Embu and Meru

fighters,

mainly from the

and the eastern locations of Nyeri, had established themselves in the forests of Mt. Kenya. A Nyeri leader, Waruhiu Itote, who later became widely known as General China, had been sent to organize the Mt. Kenya fighters in March by Dedan Kimathi. Only minimal contact was thereafter maintained between these leaders, however. For the most part, Mt. Kenya forces evolved their own organizational patterns Districts

I

:

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS and pursued an independent course

I

7

of action throughout the

revolution.

As previously

indicated, other groups

remained in

their reserve

keeping out of sight during the day, carrying out raids at night and entering the forest fringe only as the occasion demanded. Sporadic contact was made by Ituma Ndemi Army sections with some of the guerrilla units operating in the Nyeri districts,

but none at all with groups in Fort Hall and Kiambu. In Nairobi, the Central Province Committee had been recon-

District,

stituted

by June and

militant units operating under the various

urban district committees were formed. Less disciplined groups also emerged, some engaging in ‘revolutionary activities’ primarily for personal profit. Contact between Nairobi and forest groups had been established by this time, though no formal relations existed whereby policies, strategy and tactics could be unified or coordinated. Nonetheless, a fairly sophisticated supply

and

recruit system, operating largely at the district or location

linked forest groups with their urban counterparts

level,

and a

amount of arms and ammunition, medical and money were being sent into the forest

small but increasing clothing

supplies,

ants,

new Nairobi recruits. One of my Nyeri informMohamed Mathu, who was then working as a draughts-

man

for the Nairobi City Council, described his role in this sys-

along with the

tem

as follows

My

main

for the

new

meeting the

task

on the location committee was to

recruits

who were about

fill

in cards

the enter the forest.

When

from different areas, this card would identify a comrade and remove suspicion of his being a

fighters

man

as

Government

spy.

I

also

assisted

in

distributing the necessary

equipment to newly formed fighting groups. Late at night, in an area of Bahati African Location called Far Bahati, shoes, raincoats, shirts, pants and jackets were issued to the men and they were escorted to our arms depot at Kassarani. About five miles from Nairobi, near the rock quarries and the Spread Eagle Hotel on the Fort Hall road, these recruits were issued guns, simis or pangas and were instructed for a day or two on the use of firearms. These

chased

men

in

the city.

On

weapons were being

several occasions

to Kassarani. After turning

I

stolen or pur-

helped escort these

them over

to

our permanent

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

172

guard for instruction, I would return to Nairobi in the early hours of the morning. The new fighting groups, usually numbering one to two hundred men, would then be escorted in

Murang’a and finally into the forest. Every night the men would pray facing Mt. Kenya and then set off through the bush into the darkness. During the day they would sleep and remain in hiding, being assisted with food by our members in Thika and the reserve.

small groups,

first

to Thika, then to

In summary, viewing the entire revolutionary movement as of June 1953, we have noted the existence of four major zones of guerrilla activity,

Kenya and

i.e.,

in Nairobi, the

Kikuyu Reserve, Mt.

the Aberdare Range. In each of these zones, as well

importance in the Rift Valley and smaller the revolutionary forces operated with relative autonomy.

as in areas of lesser forests,

was confined largely guerrilla forces operating within each zone, and even here achievement was not yet fully realized. Unification or integration at this stage

to its

armed warriors, one of whom was a guide, were told to escort me to H.Q. Kariaini and another man was asked to carry my luggage. We had breakfast and left the camp at 8 130. On the way to H.Q. Kariaini I could see places where bombs had been dropped and had ground the bamboos into thin threads. When we arrived at River Thuti, we met the path from the reserve to the H.Q. It was big and wide as a road; thousands of cattle and people had for many months been using it. There was no trouble of hiding footprints; in fact the warriors enjoyed to ambush anyone who followed the cattle. After climbing a steep hill we came to a small flat grassland patch. Our muirigo whistled the signal and after replies, we went After morning prayers, four

right across the grassland see standing a

toward the guards

hundred yards in front of

whom we

could not

There stood 20 wellarmed guards with five automatic weapons. We shook hands and gave out our pass. I came to learn that the grassland area was semi-circled by guards whom we did not see and who could only attack when the head guards gave signals by either shooting or sounding a bugle. There was no chance for the enemy to escape, us.

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS for even

if

the

enemy

retreated there were

path for 200 yards distance. As we entered the camp, we

These were rain

shelters

still

173

guards along the

met a dozen of the guards’ measuring io' by 8 with sloping

thatched with ithanji reeds.

first

'

The uncovered

huts.

roofs

walls could neither

wind nor cold, but gave the guards the chances of seeing all directions and a quick way out. There was a fire place in every hut and at least a hundred guards slept here, about a hundred yards from the main camp. Over 200 such shelters made up the main camp, which had a cold, clear running stream across it. Three big kitchens with gabled roofs and measuring 2o' by 8 were erected at suitable distances for their supplies [i.e., conveniently near the main clusters of shelters]. As I passed near one of o’clock them I could see tins and big saucepans boiling meat at in the morning; taking care of the smoke, lest it be seen by an airplane. The camp was not at all afraid of land forces. As I approached the leaders’ houses, I noted that they were built differently from the others. They looked exactly like European tents, with doors, and had a partition inside separating the bedroom from the fireplace. I also noted that the leaders had a private kitchen. Inside the camp I could see over a hundred well-armed men awaiting the signal from the guards. The rest of the people had gone to warm themselves by the heat of the sun over the hill. The camp was located half a mile within the bamboo zone and built at the bottom of a steeply rising hill which had formed a natural bench on its northern end. To the south, the hill formed a tall wall, more than i,ooo feet above the head of a person standing inside the camp. To the southeast fell a steep cliff making a narrow ridge direct east which was the camp entrance. To the northeast, a continuation of the slope from the natural bench [descended] to the River Thuti, which drains many streams running from this hill. About a mile to the west was the great thicket of bamboo which, due to its old age, had all died and fallen to the ground making it impassable. As all the top leaders had gone to Murang’a, I found Kihara Kagumu, Gicuki Mugo and Njau Kiore leading the camp. I did not know any before. My escort introduced me to them and, after a short time, left, returning to Kigumo Camps. When I was telling those leaders about the country news, two other leaders arrived; they were Gicuki Wacira and Thiongo Gateru (known as Watoria), protect [against]

'

1 1

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

174

my

whom

was very glad to meet. Kihara ordered for lunch and quickly hot fat boiled meat was served on plates followed by the same soup. As we were eating, Gicuki Wacira asked me whether I had received Mathenge’s message asking me to visit him in the forest. He told me that he was one of those who wanted me to go and help them and he was glad for my arrival. I then told them of how I had received the message and about my journey. Gicuki gave me a letter to read to the leaders. It had

both

relatives

come from Mathenge

I

stating that he

would

arrive the following

day.

After eating, they invited east at the edge of the cliff

to their

and located

camp

camps a quarter close to

of a mile

one another. The

a small one with 15 shelters and more than 100 warriors. Gicuki’s wife and her daughter came

buildings are alike, the little

me

many

is

and neighbors in the camp. Gicuki told me that Wacira Gathuku, another relative, was in charge of the H.Q. Hospital situated half a mile west of the H.Q. He warned me, however, that no persons were allowed to visit the hospital and advised me to write a letter to him asking him to come see me at H.Q. I returned to H.Q. in the evening, during the prayer time. I was surprised to see more than 2,000 people (to my guessing) in the camp. Many of them dressed in the ordinary clothing while about 800 of them wore different Government uniforms which must have been acquired mainly from the dead security forces. A few had long and shaggy hair and beards. Some had woven [or braided] their hair like women while others had wool braided in with the hair to imitate the Masai. In fact, they could approach any Government force without being suspected. Nearly half the people were armed with swords or pangas while the rest had various types of European guns and more than 600 homemade guns. I could guess their ages; most of them were between 25 and 30 years old. There to greet

me. There were

relatives

were a few old ones, well over 60 years. The leaders could quickly be recognized. They all tied turbans around their heads, looked more clean and healthy than the rest, wore shoes or boots, possessed either a wrist or pocket watch and carried a hidden pistol

and a walking stick. I was very much astonished by seeing nearly 1,000 youths who stood armed with only a sword or a panga and were ready to fight against the Government tanks and cannons of the Royal Field

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

1

75

machine guns and the bombers. This was exactly what was prophesied some ten years ago [i.e., earlier] and reminded me of a youth dance called Muthuu. The dance was invented in 1942 by boys between the ages of 10 and 14. I was sixteen then. We tied rattles on our legs. The rattles were made of small tins in which we had put small stones and then pressed the Artillery

Forces, the

opening so that the small stones could not come out. When these rattles were shaken they gave sharp rhythmical notes. On our heads we put long birds’ feathers which were waved as we danced.

we held a well-carved wood in the shape of a panga or sword which we called muiko or G. North (‘genos’) the trade name on the pangas which were produced by G. North Co. in Nairobi. When dancing we referred to ourselves as Germans or Japanese and proclaimed that we did not care where the war might come from ‘If from the air, we will fight; if from any side we will fight.’ Our prophecy had been fulfilled. Most of the people in the forest were those who had danced Muthuu. I came later to recognize that the seven months imprisonment we prophesied revealed itself to be seven years. More than 100,000 people, including Jomo Kenyatta whom we very much praised in our Muthuu and Mucungwa dances though none had ever seen him served an In our hands

—

—

—

—

average of seven years in prison, detention or the

put together or

forest,

or in two

Mihuni songs 18 and 25 had

in all three categories. Prior to this,

created in I939~40 by youths between the ages of

prophesied unknowingly the scarcity of food and property, bravery

and death you have

in the thousands.

for the death of just

have died and

I

feel nothing.

no thicket prophesies became

there

I

One

is

did not take

into

which

of the songs said

one person;

Having a I

in

:

‘This

mourning

our village 3,000

and a walking stick, wouldn’t venture.’ At last all the knife

true.

much

time considering

how

a panga could fight

any of the jet bombers with their machine guns. Moved by emotion and will, I quickly believed that the time had come for such had turned out to be for all prophesies to be fulfilled common gossip. The prophesy of the Kikuyu’s honored witchdoctor, Chege Kibiro, who foretold the coming of the whitemen, the building of the railways and the going of the whitemen out of this country. I remembered the star that brilliantly shown in 1946 and moved from southwest to northeast which was claimed against

—

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

76

by witchdoctors that it indicated their departure and showed the whitemen the way home.

Our victory would just be a miracle, I thought. I believed that God was the most powerful, the creator of the world, who laid down the great oceans and rivers as boundaries and gave each race its own land. The Kenya Highland is our inheritance from the Heavenly Father Ngai. God did not create us so that the whitemen may have cheap labor from starving servants. God, whose name has been used by our people as the symbol of achieving our ends,

would avenge for the gross injustice done to the Kenya Africans by the British Government under the influence of the Kenya Settlers. We had to defeat the Europeans, I continued to reason. There were 60,000 Europeans against six million Africans. Each European had to fight against 100 Africans. It did not matter if he killed half of them and finally be killed himself, making sure that the survivors would share the land that had been used by the European, cast down the colonial rule and form an African which would accept European instructors, in techGovernment nique, trades and industries. Their obedience and respect of the African Government would be the most important qualification for them to stay in Kenya. My knowledge had been swept together with the thousands of ignorant warriors whose focus was only the Kenya Settlers. I had ignored the fact that the colonial system from U.K. was the source of our exploitation which we were determined to eliminate. Night came and the fires were made. Kihara Kagumu invited me into his hut. While we sat down around the fire warming, 1 asked him several questions. First I wanted to know how many people were in the camp. He told me that there were 2,600 people of whom 124 women. ‘Forty warriors and a dozen females,’ he went on, ‘are taking care of some 26 patients most of whom were injured during the Othaya raid. Wacira Gathuku, whom you wrote this morning, is in charge of the hospital. Harrison Gathinji and .

Muhindu

.

are

.

the

doctors

there.’

I

commented

that

I

knew

Gathinji.

‘The camp has 450 European weapons and some 650 banda (homemade weapons). A group of 100 well-armed guards whose huts you saw a hundred yards

away guard

the

camp

entrance and

they are the only ones supposed to be ready at every minute of the day or night. Njau Kiore, the tall black man who wore the police

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS raincoat,

the leader of the guards section. His

is

1

camp

is

77

four miles

away, just one mile from the fringe of the forest. He has 300 strong guards who guard the entrance to Kariaini. If the enemy were seen entering the forest, the fight would start there and they would

be unable to approach us up here. There are four other camps

surrounding the H.Q. at

less

than a mile distance, each having an

average of 300 people.’

He

reserves,

me

was a supply of cereals from the the Chief food was beef from Native cattle. The policy

told

had been

that though there

to eat only the

Home

Guards’

[i.e.,

loyalists’] cattle,

but

were put together in pens which were strongly guarded, then we had to fight for them and keep records of foodstuffs, so that at the end it could be reported how many bags of

since

all

cattle

we had

would be required to know how many heads of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs we had used. How much or how many belonged to the enemy and maize, beans, wheat or potatoes,

how many belonged

to

etc.,

our members and

used. It

how much

to a particular

would be due to him for compensation. ‘You see,’ he went on, ‘our Government had asked us to fight but has not supplied us with any arms, food or clothing; whatever we spend then our Government would be responsible for compensation.’ The dinner was ready; well-fried meat with nice thick gravy and some doughs [i.e., fried corn-cakes] followed by soup. As we were eating, I raised a question on the Othaya Raid. He told me that about 400 people from H.Q. raided Othaya Camp at night time with the intention of releasing prisoners and acquiring more arms. About the same number of persons had to raid Kairuthi and Ihuririo at the same time. (Kairuthi raid was successful as I had individual

reported; Ihuririo group failed to raid and the leader gave the

excuse of being late right from the starting.)

‘The Othaya

Camp was

well-protected with barbed wire fences,’

he continued. ‘The guards were laying

in fortified covers

behind

which had built a wall impassible by a bullet and in tall guards’ towers which enabled them to see far away and secured their positions. The guards saw our people approaching the barbed wires and then opened fire before our people were ready. Some soil

sacks

reported to fight

me

that they were over 300 yards behind

when

the

broke and a heavy rain started pouring almost simultaneously.

The Kenya

Police inside the

camp threw mortar

[i.e.,

flares] in

the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

178

which shone better than the moon and changed darkness into light, making every one of our warriors visible. As our warriors were laying together along the barbed wire fences, they were badly beaten by grenades from the guards’ tall towers above their heads. Though they managed to cut the barbed wires when one person was blowing a bugle, they did not enter the camp as they noted that many of their people were falling down dead. There were !” several cries, “Come to the Bren gun, I’m shot ‘They retreated and ran away leaving behind the dead and the dying; taking with them only the ones who managed to walk when held. It was still pouring as they left and the River Thuti less than 200 yards behind them had so swollen that it wanted to swallow everybody who tried to cross it. The Bren gun was drowned with its owner, Kambo Wamwere, who had reported that he was shot.’ I told him that Kambo was my cousin. He replied that Kambo was a very brave warrior. As all the raiders had not come from the H.Q. some had come from different camps in that region and as far as Location 14 of Murang’a each returned to his camp after the raid. No person in air

—

—

the forest could

the

tell

how many enemies

or warriors were killed in

Othaya Raid. Each could only give an account

had seen or heard others say on the way back could

tell

might be

the truth about the absenties.

to their

Some

of

what he

camps. None

guessed that they

camps and kept waiting for them. Later on I warriors had died; the drowned and the missing

in other

learned that 16

ones from H.Q. alone were 16 other warriors. Eighteen patients in the H.Q. hospital were mostly suffering from grenade shells while more than a dozen had received light injuries in the same raid. Most of the warriors claimed at least a dozen of the security

might have died. After dinner, the whole camp rejoiced in songs of praise to the country and warriors’ leaders, songs of prayers, propagating the Movement, degrading and warning the Africans who helped the Government. The whole forest echoed in the dead night’s silence. forces

It

was a great entertainment which

cast

away

all

worries and

increased courage.

Here are a few of the songs we sang that night. that it was one of the only entertainments we had

made a new song our

to record every event.

activities in songs.

We

I

learnt later

after dinner.

on

We

therefore could report

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

*

79

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

180 (1)

God created Gikuyu and Mumbi And kept them in Gikuyuland. They were deceived by Europeans And their land was stolen. Chorus:

never leave

I’ll

never leave him.

I’ve

been solemnly promised

The

return of our lands. at Ringuti

Kenyatta stood ‘Vagrancy and

Do

Jomo

I’ll

and

said

:

laziness

not produce benefits

For our country.’ Chorus:

Jomo

I’ll

never leave

I’ll

never leave him.

I’ve

been solemnly promised

The

return of our lands.

Sorrow and trouble came With the white community.

When we They

(2)

When

accepted them

stole

our land.

our Kimathi ascended

Into the mountain alone,

He To

defeat the white man.

He

said that

asked for strength and courage

The

we

should tread

paths that he had trodden

That we should follow

And

;

his steps

drink from his cup.

you drink from the cup of courage, The cup I have drunk from myself,

‘If

a cup of pain and sorrow,

It

is

A

cup of

tears

and

death.’

;

1

;

;

HEADQUARTERS

KARIAINI

1

8

We are tormented because we are black, We are not of the white community We do not share their blessings, But our own God

is

before us.

Don’t fear to be exiled

Or Or For

detained in the camps, to lose still is

your belongings or our

God

before

life

us.

Even though our hearts are troubled

Jomo

will

never desert

us.

was never abandoned, God, at Kapenguria by Thee.

Just as he

Oh

You must

display his perseverance

In the face of trouble or death

Knowing that you belong to The Kingdom of Gikuyu and Mumbi.

(3)

The day Kenyatta was arrested, Which was on a Monday,

He was

taken to the airport.

Chorus: T hey mocked him, saying ‘Jomo, you’ve defended the blacks

Now If

defend yourself and we’ll see

you can win we

!

will accept you.’

When Pritt heard the news He felt a strong sympathy Seeing the Kenyans in trouble. Spear-bearers

(i.e.,

Home

Guards)

!

We’ll never compromise.

You had us, your brothers, put in prisons And revealed the secrets of the blacks.

When they heard the news they were To learn that the witnesses were Their own Kikuyu

sisters

surprised

and brothers.

1

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

82

The lawyer

asked a

‘Are you sure

Peninah Wanjiku,

girl,

Jomo was

there

When

the oath was administered?’

When

all

the chaos

is

finished

We’ll return to our homes and our land

And many

(4)

spear-bearers will

commit

The children of Gikuyu live in Under the pouring rains; With much hunger and cold Because we want land. Chorus: Woeee

Woeee

suicide.

the forests,

Woeee, Ayahee Would you bear death, troubles and imprisonment Because you want your lands?

Who

!

!

!

are those singing aloud,

Living beyond the ocean Praising

The

Jomo and Mbiyu

seekers of right

Some Gikuyu

And

and

as

justice

?

separated themselves

betrayed the others because

They thought we could never win. Our House of Mumbi, We will win

(5)

!

Mother, whether you cry or not, I will only come back when our lands are returned When I obtain our lands and African Freedom !

These songs continued excitements,

I

until late after midnight.

wrapped myself

in

area being of higher altitude than

blankets and

Kigumo and

With a

fell

asleep.

also being

lot of

This

exposed

was much colder than Kigumo. After morning prayers, the sentries were posted and we took breakfast. I noted that nearly everyone had a kitbag ( gitumbeki containing at least three ready meals. Kihara told me that we had better go up the hill and expose ourselves to the sun. Here, most of the people spent the day in small groups of at most twenty, to strong winds,

— KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

1

83

and taking great care lest we be seen by an airplane. A few people were sent out to collect honey. A few dug hiding holes, while others [simply] went under the big trees when the Harvards dropped their 50-pound bombs. At 10 a.m. Wacira Gathuku arrived, aged 55, resembling much to my father with a white turban on his head and long beard, dressed in a grey suit, a wrist watch and a walking stick and a pair of gum boots. We were both glad to meet each other. We talked of the current news, my journeys, his job, the hospital and the patients and such. At lunch time, Kihara called his attendant who brought his kitbag, out of which we ate roasted and boiled cold meat. Soon after lunch Stanley Mathenge with three other leaders Kahiu-Itina, Ngara Gitegenye and Gategwa arrived from Murang’a with two dozen warriors, all well-armed, and ten carriers including a girl, who all carried food and other belongings. Mathenge, six-feet-tall brown man of medium thickness with little beards on his chin and black moustache, wore a woolen grey beret on his head, a red-spotted colored scarf around his neck, a khakicolored rain- and cold-proof coat with leather buttons, a long pair of black trousers and a pair of black shoes, a wrist watch, a walking staff and an automatic pistol hoisted on a waist-belt. We were very happy to meet each other. Mathenge asked me whether I had discussing

—

received his

letter.

He

thanked

me

for going to the forest,

adding

would be able to speak to the Government through me in writings and he would be certain that all records were properly kept. He told me that I had no case to answer, he only wanted me to go and work with him in the Land and Freedom Army. He refused any further discussion on the issue and promised me that we would have the discussion privately in the evening while warming ourselves by the fire. He called his personal secretary Ndungu Mathenge, who was nicknamed Achieng Oneko [the KAU Secretary tried with Kenyatta and four others at Kapenguria], and ordered him to write letters addressed to all the leaders in the forest between Rwarai and Muringato streams Rwarai marks the Nyeri/Muranga boundary and Muringato marks the Nyeri/Northern Rift Valley boundary telling them to attend a leaders’ meeting at H.Q. Kariaini on the 11th of June 1953 without fail. Mathenge asked me to help his secretary in writing copies of the letter. As Mathenge did not know how to write, I had just to put down his name for signature. The that he

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

I84

who had accompanied Mathenge from Murang’a were responsible for the letters’ delivery. They left for their camps three

leaders

and Mathenge gave us a short account of his journey. He said that Murang’a people were very brave fighters but they lacked fighting tactics. He said that they were conducting day battles in the villages which were resulting to the deaths of many women, children and the old persons who are generally found in the battlefield, as the security personnel would always avenge on them. He also said that a part of a sub-location had fled into the forest with their animals, women and children for hiding purposes. He told us that he left Kimathi organizing them fi.e., the Murang’a fighters] and that he may continue his journey as far as Kiambu. ‘I have come to arrange a plan which I am sure will shake the Kenya Government. It will show our strength and ability.’ It was getting cold as the sun was sinking behind the western mountains. Mathenge asked Gathuku to go to the hospital with four of his carriers, one of whom was a girl, and show them where to peg out his tent while he would go and greet the warriors in the H.Q. I accompanied Mathenge to the camp. After prayers, when all were seated, Mathenge gave a short account of his journey, encouraged the fighters, introduced me to them and asked me to speak to the people. I read two verses from the Holy Bible which I had selected :

Lamentations. Chapter 1

.

Remember,

O

lord,

5, verses 1-9.

what

is

come upon

us

:

consider,

and

behold our reproach. 2.

3. 4.

Our

We We

inheritance

turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.

is

and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto are orphans

us. 5.

Our

necks are under persecution,

6.

We

have given

the

hand

to

we

and have no rest. the Egyptians, and to the labour,

Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7.

Our

fathers

have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their

iniquities. 8.

Servants have ruled over us

:

there

is

none that doth deliver

us out of their land. 9.

We

gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS Ecclessiastes. 1

Chapter

1

85

4, verses 1-3.

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more

.

:

;

2.

than the living which are yet Yea, the better

3.

who hath

is

alive.

he than both they, which hath not yet been,

not seen the evil work that

After reading,

I

is

done under the

book and began

closed the

countrymen, I’m glad to be with you

this

my

sun.

speech.

‘My

am

also

evening.

I

pleased with your bravery and your efforts in this hard struggle. is

only four days since

I left

ing in order to join you,

many

are five times as

the five hundred children

and

I

am

glad that you

as those children.

I

who

have

I

It

was teach-

are listening

just read

two

Kikuyu language which I am sure that you have all understood. The first was the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah of Israel for his people. Did you find it to be true with verses to

you

in

us today?’

if

‘Yes, quite true,’ replied the

mob. ‘This wood

we

rot here,’ said

for

don’t buy,

it

would only

is

sold to us

and

one person. ‘We die

our own food,’ said another.

you agree with the prophesy of Jeremiah?’ ‘Yes, we do !’ they replied. ‘So,

‘Then don’t be worried of what has become of this

is

it

from the

other races and nations.

It

is

Israelites. It

is

no playing with

has happened to

History and History repeats

our turn now. All you have to do

There

saying that

You many

strange news you had never seen or heard of before.

have already heard

is

us,

either

is

itself.

It

persevere and fight bravely.

arrow or gun. Whenever you pull

the trigger or release the arrow from the string, you can not stop

by any means from hitting the object you aimed at. This means that we have started our fight for Land and Freedom; whether you like it or not, whether you surrender or not, our aim must at it

last

be achieved by either you or your children.

‘My countrymen, the question is “Are you ready to fight till we get our Land and Freedom or are you going to leave the fight for your young children?”

’

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

86 ‘Oh,

we

are going to fight!’ they exclaimed.

‘We

are going to

win,’ shouted another person.

‘You can

fight

and win

in actions

but not

in words.

Remember

the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Goodbye.’

Mathenge thanked me for

me

for the speech, asked the people to cheer

three times by clapping their hands, then

commented on

them that he had called me to go and help them in the land and freedom struggle and that he believed I would be of much help stating that I had given a very courageous speech on my first day. He then bid them goodbye and we left HQ. toward the hospital escorted by four armed warriors, the person who carried my luggage and his secretary. We arrived at twilight and I could see ten living shelters and a kitchen, two leaders’ houses, Mathenge’s tent and the leaders’ kitchen. The only difference in the buildings was that all the walls

my

He

speech.

told

—

were completely covered

in

order to protect the patients from the

The camp was within scattered bamboos and under The nearby stream made a swamp covered by long

severe cold.

big trees.

ithanji reeds. It

was too cold

for mosquitoes to breed in the

swamp.

After exchanging greetings with the patients and their guards,

we moved

into Gathuku’s hut.

I

was glad

to

meet Dr Harrison

was introduced to Muhindu his assistant. Gathinji went on telling me how he was treating the patients and that they were recovering well. Some had bullets healed in them. I told them that I was a Scoutmaster and that I had two First Aid Certificates and a Red Cross emblem which proved that I was fit to aid patients especially the ones suffering from loss of blood. ‘You see Gathuku,’ Mathenge commented, ‘we have now got a very important person Mr Njama. He is a teacher and has given a very courageous speech at H.Q. which I would ask him to repeat tomorrow morning. You have heard again that he is a very good doctor. He would be working with you, Gathinji, and I think you Gathinji and

I

—

be of great help to our patients. Scoutmaster and will teach our warriors will all

remember

He is a how to

brave warrior, spy, hide

and

was with him in 1947 when he received praiseworthy letters from His Excellency the Governor for saving an old man’s life. I hope you will do much more than that for your signal.

I

people. Again, he

speak English.

I

I

a very well educated person; he can write and do not know to read, how can I speak to the

Government while

is

in this forest?

You

will be writing all

I

want

to

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS say in any language you wish (pointing at me) and ing

to the

it

called you.

Government. You

Though without

will

my

be

education,

1

I

will

Secretary; that

all

those

87

be send-

why

is

who have

I

offered

freedom would surely have some priority in the African Government, while people like you with education would rise to the top of the Government Departtheir lives in the course of fighting for

ments.’

At

this stage

the dinner was ready; well-roasted ribs of a fat

cow, pancakes and a thick gravy, diluted honey followed by hot soup. As we were eating, Gathinji remarked that plenty of food

was the

best medicine they could give to the patients.

that statement explaining

how

the food

we

I

emphasized

growth and the repair of our bodies. After dinner, Mathenge claimed that he was very tired from the long journey and went to sleep. I noted that all the girls were sleeping in one hut and that no warrior was allowed to sleep with a girl. I was told it was a rule that even in the

H.Q.

he slept

all

women

alone but

in

slept alone. it

bed was made here and I

had a good

The

Gathuku had a big room which

was generally used I fell

eat provides for

asleep.

The

as the sitting

area was a bit

My

room.

warm and

sleep.

following morning

I

gave the same speech.

I

attended the

and noted that the greatest difficulty was an operation whereby it would be necessary to remove a bullet from either abdomen, chest or head. Not even one of us had surgical knowledge, though we had some apparatus. All we could do was to treat the wound and let it heal with the bullet inside. Many cases were light and we removed it [i.e., the bullet]. I spent the day in a private place over the hill alone with Mathenge and Gathuku. Mathenge told me of his visit to Nairobi in March; how he was arrested and taken to a police station. He could see the posters selling his head and his photo on the notice patients

he entered the charge room. The police did not recognize him and he was soon released and returned to the forest via

board

as

Murang’a.

He

also told

me

of a fire bullet incident.

He

said that

when

they were on a journey with Kimathi in Murang’a they were sitting

the

one night when a bullet exploded in he bullet passed near me and I escaped death very

warming around a

fire.

narrowly.

‘T

all

God

had put that

didn’t

fire

want

bullet in the

me fire,

to die.

but

all

We

tried to find out

in vain.

I

who

suspected that

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

88

Kimathi might have put the bullet, or his agent, aiming at eliminating me so that he would become the chief leader. He was not at all pleased when I was elected to be the head of Ituma while he was elected to be my clerk. He thinks that his education makes him more clever and important than myself. But, you see, all the leaders proved that that was not true by electing me in his presence. I decided not to accompany him for the rest of our planned journey and chose to return here to prepare for an all-out raid. I would pray God to punish the evil one who had put the bullet in the

fire.’

In the evening, the hospital.

He

we found Kihara Kagumu awaiting

for us at

reported that there were three cases to be heard

under the chairmanship of Mathenge. ‘The cases,’ he continued, (i) under the leadership of Gen. Nyama, our warriors have ‘were robbed Joram Muchanji’s shop at Ndunyu Market. The owner is a great comrade who supplies us with all the shopping goods. It is a very bad act to a friend. It may cause a hatred to many people. :

(2)

The second

case

is

of raping.

Some

warriors in Ngara’s section

have been accused of raping girls. (3) The third case you can remember; Gacuhi shot dead his fellow partisan and took off his

gun

at the Kairuthi Raid. It

is still

to be

proven that he shot him

knowingly for the purpose of acquiring the gun.’ Mathenge became very angry with Gen. Nyama. He said if such a thing happens again he would split the H.Q. into sublocation sections

supplies

from

its

Kigumo

and order each section

own

sub-location only.

to

He

have

[i.e.,

asked

me

acquire]

its

to write a

and all leaders around H.Q. asking them to attend a meeting at H.Q. June 9th to discuss the three serious cases. 1 he June 11th meeting remained unchanged. After writing all the required copies, I handed them to Kagumu for dispatching. This report by Kihara made me think that there were different segments amongst the fighters; and probably they might have letter to

leaders

different motives for entering the forest.

there were

women and

old

I

had already noted that

men who had come

into the forest for

the sake of hiding or to escape the security force tortures this might be true of some warriors.

.

.

.

and

The following day we visited three camps surrounding the H.Q. Our intentions were to get information from different places about the current news and the reports on camp activities. At midday we were at Watoria’s camp and were listening to his assistant Kahinga

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS Wachanga all

reporting about the

along the forest boundary.

camp when we saw It

1

puffs of

89

smoke

quickly spread and began to be

were being set on fire by the Government. We became worried and kept looking at the increasing fires. In a short time fog and clouds of smoke became so thick that we could no longer see the reserve. We sent out scouts, who returned in the evening reporting that all the houses between one and three miles from the forest boundary had been burnt. They did not see any civilians in that area, only security forces. The following morning we got the correct information. The Government gave people six hours notice to remove all their belongings and livestock; then Government forces followed harassing them and taking away whatever pleased them furniture, clothings, utensils and money. At the expiration of the six hours they set all houses on fire, even the Home Guard houses. All the people were told to meet at some selected centers and were warned never again to step in that area. ‘Any person seen in the area would be shot without question,’ they said. ‘Forget your gardens as you have forgotten your houses. That area is our battlefield with Mau Mau. It will be called a special area. You have now lost both house and garden for helping Mau Mau. We promise you that you will lose more if you continue to help Mau Mau. If you have a friend who can accommodate you in his house you can go; if you don’t, you will sleep just where you are.’ All the livestock were put together in one herd at every center and armed Home Guards were to herd them all the day and guard them during the night so that we will not be able to get any more food. We were annoyed by the Government action. Mathenge told clear to us that thousands of houses

—

me

them to raid all before pens and guarding

to write another letter to the leaders ordering

the cattle centers as quickly as possible,

were established, and to bring to the forest as many cattle as possible and try to dry the meat for preservation. ‘Make sure that forts

you ambush all those who would follow the cattle at the right place and that you strike at the right time,’ [I wrote.] On the morning 7 June each of the six groups that were sent out of H.Q. for cattle raiding returned with an average of 100 head of cattle. We had plenty of meat but, though we tried to dry and preserve it, some went bad. The fight started at 7 a.m. when many of the groups which followed the cattle fell into the hands of our ambushers near the fringe of the forest. When the Govern-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

igO ment

found that they were overpowered, they signalled for airplanes to help them. They asked them to drop bombs a few hundred yards in front of them thinking that they would fall on our people. The result was what they never expected. The air forces

sighted

forces

dropped

their

two of bombs on

their their

groups,

own

then the twelve airplanes

people, killing 42 of them.

When

they sent strong forces to check the airplanes work, they were surprised to see that they

Our

had

killed their people.

warriors, being unable to

combat the Harvard bombers,

withdrew and arrived H.Q. safely. They reported to me that they were frightened by the bombs which were dropped near them but it seemed as if the airplanes had spotted their own people for they were bombing on the same place.

Two

days

later,

our H.Q. warriors

we passed where

I :

received the following news from three of

‘Yesterday evening on our

the airplanes were

way

bombing trying

to the reserve

to help their

We

were very excited by the bombed area, in which about 4,000 square yards had been cleared as a garden. We saw many lumps of blood, torn pieces of flesh and clothes, food tins, some ammunition, etc. We were then very certain that the airplanes must have bombed their own people. When we arrived in the reserve, we were told by the villagers that they were exhibited some 42 badly damaged corpses which Government claimed were the Mau Mau killed by bombs; but they had noted that most of the corpses were not of Kikuyus.’ people.

After attending the patients, Mathenge, the leaders in the hospital and myself, escorted by six armed warriors, set off for the

meeting place on the hill about a mile from the camp. On our way we noticed one of the sentries only when we were ten yards from

He

him.

away he ;

said that he d seen us while also said that the other

we were a hundred yards guards who encircled the meeting

were seeing us but we could not see them as they did not expose themselves. As we approached the meeting place, we could see leaders sitting down on the little grass which grew under the big trees some 150 yards in front of us. On our arrival, they stood for Mathenge and after exchanging greetings we all sat down in a [place]

circle.

All the twenty-seven leaders

were from Nyeri. Many of them were new to me and curiously focused on me their long shaggy hair and beards on black and dark brown faces with their pro-

.

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

I

g

I

truding dark brown eyes. These bloodshot-eyed leaders, or most of them, were armed with different types of pistols; three had Sten guns and three others big game shooting guns. Figuring out that

and order were vested people and that their decision was final, I the powers of law

all

hands of those

in the felt

uneasy.

The meeting started with prayers. We all stood facing Mt. Kenya with soil in our hands while Mathenge said the prayers. Then only Mathenge remained standing in the center of the Taking a small

circle.

he proceeded

stick

about a foot long from a pile of them,

any leader who would reveal confidential matters to the warriors or to anyone else not entitled to the matter, let the person who creates hatred between others, the witchdoctor who kills people by poison to enjoy his practice, etc., etc., be destroyed along with his entire family and vanish from the earth.’ We all had to repeat the curse after him and he threw away a stick into the bush after the completion of every vow. One person enquired whether all the persons present had taken the Leaders Oath. I said that I had not taken it although I had been working as a leader. I was then asked to take the Leaders Oath.

With a

to curse the traitors

:

worry about the oath

‘Let

was going to take and a little pleasure of my promotion, I stood in the middle of the leaders facing Mt. Kenya, raising my hands high over my head with soil in my left hand and a piece of goat’s meat in my right, I repeated the vows after Mathenge little

I

:

I

swear before Ngai and

(1)

I

will

I

these people here that

.

.

never reveal the leaders’ secrets to a warrior or any

who

other person (2)

all

is

not a leader.

never run away or surrender leaving

will

my

warriors

behind. (3)

I will

go wherever they ask (4)

I

will

my

never abandon the leadership of

me

my

to

do

people would send in

never disdain

people but

me and do

I

will

whatever

my country’s name. [i.e.,

degrade or

criticize]

any leader

in

the presence of warriors. (5)

I

will

never by any means cause or plan the [injury

or]

death of another leader. I

ended each vow by chewing some meat and a

little soil

and

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

192 saying

fail to

‘If I

:

do

Ngai kill me.’ At the completion of

down with

this,

my

oath,

and heartedly accepted the vows

sit

introduce

me

the others

to the

may I

this

me.

kill

was asked

to take

If I lie,

my

may

books and

recording the minutes.

start I

oath

I

whole-

had taken. Mathenge went on

leaders as his secretary.

He

to

then informed

and decide what was to be done to three accused fellows whose actions had brought much shame on the whole of our Movement. He gave the names and the allegations against each. He said that any leader may question the accused or comment on his views. One would apply the leaders that he

had

called

them

for permission to speak in the usual

thumb and would then come in the

finger against

would the

down

way

of cracking

raising his hand.

The

[i.e.,

snapping]

permitted person

bunch of sticks that speak. Mathenge ordered for

center and take a

indicate the points he

first

to hear

was

to

accused King’ori Gitegenye, to be brought; then he sat

along with the others.

He Mugo

King’ori Gitegenye was brought, guarded by three escorts. stood in the center of the circle and was sworn by Gicuki

would not lie before God or that court. Gicuki went on to tell him that he was accused of raping a girl in the reserve about a week ago when he, with others, were sent to fetch food. The defendant said that he did not expect such reports for the girl was his friend. He remarked that other warriors who saw him with the girl that night must have misreported him intentionally. He was then asked to go away. As he and his escorts disappeared, Gicuki read a letter from the that he

sub-location leader in the reserve accusing the defendant of raping

A

warrior witness was called. After being sworn he said that he had left King’ori with that girl about 100 yards from the home

a

girl.

he had entered to collect food. He heard the girl crying and quickly went there. He found both standing. ‘The girl reported of the incident saying that she was raped and beaten. When King’ori heard, instead of defending himself, he continued to beat the

girl

them and took the girl to the home where we then carried our food and started our journey.’ brother, Ngara Gitegenye, the leader of that camp,

until I separated left her.

We

King’ori’s

was the

first

leader to speak.

He

said

that he

had questioned

King’ori before and was convinced that he was guilty. [After a number of others had] commented on the witnesses, it was resolved

;

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

1

93

was guilty. ‘According to our customary laws,’ said one, ‘he would pay seven rams to the elders, an ewe for cleansing the girl and brew some beer; but now none of these can be afforded in this forest. We have to substitute it with what we have either money for fine or strokes on the buttocks.’ Since warriors did not possess any money, the latter punishment was to be imposed. During arguments on how many strokes, Gathuku remarked that King’ori

that raping should be considered as a capital charge, for resulted in destroying a

girl,

it

either

causing her to be barren or causing a

hip dislocation; and in some cases the raper

defending himself from shame and

the victim while

kills

was then resolved that King’ori was to receive twenty-five strokes on his buttocks. He was brought again and the sentence was carried out on the spot. Though I did not raise my hand to speak I was very busy recording the speeches I had been convinced that the case was fine. It

—

—

well conducted.

The second leaders, stood

accused, Gen.

and

among

the other

He

any

them

to rob the

shops and said that they had local guides

who knew

Ndunyu Market

[i.e.,

supporters].

in.

of the guides stood in the center

days ago they were ordered to plunder as irrespective of associates or

come from our

sent

very well. As he sat down, Mathenge ordered that

those guides be brought

One

sat

after swearing said that he did not order

robbing of our associates

Home Guard

Nyama, who

Home

and

said that just three

many

cattle as possible,

Guards, and the orders had

chief leader, Stanley

Mathenge.

‘I

could see no

difference between the taking of ones cattle or goods in his shop. I

thought that we would record

his

goods the same

way

as

we have

recorded his cattle and [he would] await for compensation.

ransacked

all

the shops.

I

thought that

if

we

left his

We

shop [un-

him as our helper and his goods and which his life would be under the mercy of Home Guards would have been worse than what we did.’ The guides were asked to go away together with Nyama, and touched], that would betray

.

.

.

was withdrawn. After a short time they were all called and warned never to commit any action that would anger our associates; causing them to feel bad on us and probably leading them to turn against us. In that case I learnt that Mathenge was confused in what to do and what to leave in the taking of our associates property. after a short discussion the case

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

194

The

was brought strongly guarded.

Gacuhi,

accused,

third

After the guards had inspected him, he was sworn. Gicuki

proceeded on reading

on the night of

his accusation, saying that

the Kairuthi Raid he shot dead his

Mugo

comrade and took

his gun.

and sorrow, admitted that he shot the man, whom he thought to be an enemy, but very much regretted when he realized that he had killed his friend. The three witnesses who were heard said that ‘After defeating Gacuhi,

full of fear

.

the enemies,

we were

we

.

.

entered the shops in order to take out goods.

leaving the shops

we

spotted a figure outside

When

coming

to-

Gacuhi who was in front of us, without asking a question, opened fire and the man fell twenty yards before us. As Gacuhi ran there to take the man’s gun, we heard other sentries asking,

ward

us.

“Who

is

that shooting at us?”

We

then realized that one of our

people was dead.’

Answering a question whether they thought that Gacuhi wanted to kill the man, each said that they were all working with Gacuhi inside the shop and when they came out he surprisingly fired at a

which he did not know, but excitement had caused him to think that it was an enemy and he had right to strike as quickly

figure

he was struck. The witnesses remarked that he

as possible before

was innocent. After a short discussion, there was no proof at

wanted was set

Gacuhi an accident and Gacuhi all

that

was therefore regarded as free with a warning to take much care next time. The meeting was postponed fi.e., adjourned] to the following morning when it would resume for the making of some rules and to

kill. It

regulations brought about

the following day,

I

by the

continued

cases.

my

When

the meeting resumed

job and recorded these rules

and regulations, which were resolved arguments

[i.e.,

passed]

after

some

:

(1)

that

1 hat raping

any further

is

an offence

as old as the

cases of that sort

Kikuyu

would be regarded

tribe

and

as capital

charges. (2)

Since

women were

the

source of calamity and would

cause conflicts amongst our warriors in camps, and as they were not engaged in fighting, they should be kept in their separate

camps where they would be guarded and

fed.

That the follow-

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS ing day a group from at

Mumwe

1

95

H.Q. would go and build a women’s camp

stream.

That warriors were entitled to take by force any foodstuffs the gardens and livestock concentrated at any Government

(3)

in

centers irrespective of whether they belonged to friend or foe.

That foodstores of known supporters were [to be considered] the property of the owners and that we could only ask (4)

them (5)

to help us.

That our warriors were allowed

to take or destroy

any

enemy’s property; (6)

That the

supplies of foodstuffs, clothes, medicine,

money, the sub-locations [i.e., on a

were to be organized in sub-location basis] and that the forest organizer of a sub-location was the only person who would write a letter to the other organizer in the reserve so that he could hand over the supplies arms,

etc.,

for transport to the forest.

hat whenever any supplies have arrived in a camp, they should be shared by all the members of that camp and not 1

(7)

[allocated]

on a sub-locational

Before the meeting adjourned, letter

letter

basis.

was agreed to write an apology to Joram Mucanji, whose shop had been robbed. I wrote the and told him to keep a record of all his lost property awaiting it

compensation when we achieved independence. to send us a copy of his record of the lost property.

for

The the

leaders

were asked

Government

to bring plans for raids that

for discussion

I

asked him

would shake

on the following day. The meeting

dispersed.

On

nth June 1953 from Mweiga Settled Area the

a dozen more of the expected leaders of the Northern Rift Valley arrived at

the meeting place at 10 a.m. After exchanging greetings, Mathenge reported that since the leaders we had been awaiting had arrived,

we were

to start the meeting.

1 he meeting commenced with the usual prayers, all standing and facing Mt. Kenya, d hen, all sitting down in a circle, Mathenge stood in the center and asked whether there was a warrior in the meeting and requested every person who had not taken the leadership oath to raise his hand.

who had move

I

noted that there were three people

not been promoted to leaders status. They were asked to in the center of the circle and were sworn in by the oath.

MAU M A U FROM WITHIN

196

After that, these three

new

by Mathenge he had sent an invita-

leaders were informed

that they were not invited to the meeting as

and that he did not know anything about them. They would have to go to the camp and wait for their companions. Mathenge then went on to utter a curse [binding all the leaders to secrecy] in the same way he had done the day before. Like a newspaper reporter, I recorded the meeting’s first speech. Mathenge told us that the matter we were to discuss was of great confidence and importance and that everything must be kept in secret until the plans had been carried out. ‘We made the plan with Kimathi at Murang’a,’ he continued, ‘and agreed that he was to carry on the plan for Murang’a and Kiambu, Mbaria Kaniu would organize the whole of North Kinangop while Ndungu and Kimbo will organize the Northern Rift Valley. The most important thing is that the raid should be carried on over all the country on the same day and exactly at the same time. You need not worry about date and time; I would give you twenty-four hours notice of the date and time. All you have to do today is to know what, where and how to raid.’ He gave me a letter and asked tion letter to every leader

me

to read (1)

it

aloud to the meeting.

Every camp must

seize

It

read

:

and bring

into the forest as

many

livestock as possible. (2)

Destroy

graph wires

in

all

the roads, railways, bridges, electric

and

tele-

your area.

many enemies

your area.

(3)

Kill as

(4)

Raid your nearest trading centers for clothing, and

goods

as possible in

all

in the shops.

Raid your nearest dispensary for the medicine [and medical supplies] only and bring it in the forest. (6) Put on fire as many enemy houses as possible. (7) Raid all water pipes on the farms and bring sizes 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter for the making of guns. (Signed by) Dedan Kimathi (5)

continued Mathenge, ‘the next thing is to allocate areas to be raided by different camps. It is now the leaders ‘Those are the

duty to know his area. This

raids,’

how many will enable

bridges or enemies or houses

you

to determine the

etc.,

number

are in

of groups

which you would divide your section; and hence how many warriors would go into each group. I would give you four days into

KARIAINI HEADQUARTERS

I97

only for preparations as from tomorrow. Thereafter you must be ready at all times throughout the month. Any leader who fails to carry on the raid will be demoted to a regular warrior.’

When Mathenge

sat

down, a few other leaders commented on

their support of the idea.

We

spent the rest of the time allocating

the areas to be raided by different

number

of warriors in the area.

At

camps

in

proportion to the

this stage I learnt that

Nyeri

had 5,800 warriors in Nyandarua, of whom 1,800 were new recruits who had entered the forest within that week. The Government action of burning and evicting people all along the forest boundary, declaring their farms to become ‘Special Area’ and forcing all men to become Home Guards and fight against their people in order to prove their loyalty to the Government made so many men flee to the forest in order to escape the Government punishment imposed to non-loyalists. This only increased our number in the forests; more fighters joined in this month than any other. I he meeting ended and the leaders returned to their camps.

CHAPTER

XII

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE Karari’s

account of the 25 June raid and, more specifically, of the failure of Kariaini forces to carry out their part in this ‘allout attack’, focuses attention on the role and influence of the seers among Aberdare guerrilla forces. It also provides a striking illustration of the seeming incongruity, in the context of a modern-

omens and magico-religious beliefs. To understand this phenomenon, it is necessary to view the role of the mundo mu go in term of both continuities in Kikuyu culture and ideological reactions to contemporary events.

day

revolution, of prophets,

The traditionally important role of the mundo mugo as a member of the Kikuyu War Council with numerous military ,

been alluded to in an earlier it is easy enough to view his role within revolutionary forest groups of the 1950’s e.g., advising on raids and other military matters, using his war magic against the enemy, conducting cleansing ceremonies, transmitting messages from Ngai,

and section and duties

functions, has already

—

usually received in dreams, to the guerrilla leaders,

etc.

—

as

merely an extension or continuation of traditional belief and practice. This, however, would be to overlook the importance of contemporary pressures, internal and external, and their affects on the complex and developing ideology of the forest insurgents.

To

provide a context for this discussion and, as ideological matters will be of continuing concern, a framework within which future developments can meaningfully be considered,

it

might

be useful here to address ourselves to the general question of Mau Mau ideology. It must be noted at the outset that many writers have attempted to characterize this ideology, and not infrequently the entire revolutionary movement, in terms of one or another general and comprehensive category or label. Mau

Mau

has variously been asserted, ‘was in fact a religion’, rather than a religion, ‘a self-conscious return to tribalism 1

,

1

it

L. S. B. Leakey, Defeating

Mau Mau, 198

p.

41,

Methuen & Co.

or, .

.

Ltd,, 1954.

.

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE based on synthetic paganism’,

aimed ment’,

at 2

‘a

tribal

1

1

99

wholly tribal manifestation

‘a

domination, not a national liberation move-

form of millenarism’, 3 or

of the golden age’.

‘a pseudo-religious cult

.

.

4

must confess that I find all such attempts to ‘fit’ the ideology of Kenya’s revolutionary movement into a single, neat category wanting in both historical accuracy and utility. Unfortunately, the Movement issued no manifesto and all who address themselves to its ideology are obliged to make inferences from a wide array of songs, prayers, oaths, etc., which, in their variety, can be used selectively to support any number of sweeping generalizaI

tions.

My own

investigation of

Mau Mau

ideology, viewed as the

unifying set of aims, interests and beliefs of the Movement, has

shown it to be a rather complex phenomenon containing at least four major aspects or components; namely, secular, moralreligious, African national and Kikuyu tribal. The weighting or importance attached to these several aspects, as we shall see, changed over time and varied from group to group. Nevertheless, it will be useful at this point to consider the general characteristics of each component as part of the total ideology. Developing largely out of the manifold politico-agrarian grievances directed against European rule and white settler occupancy alienated African

of

land,

the secular aspect of

Mau Mau

ideology was revealed most clearly in the oft-repeated of the

Movement

tunities,

demands

for higher wages, increased educational oppor-

removal of the color-bar

in

its

variety of discriminatory

forms, return of the alienated lands and independence under an all-African government.

As a

reflection of the developing relation-

ship of inequality between black

and white

in

Kenya

society,

these secular aims were, in their political dimension, an expression of African nationalist ideology

—

i.e.,

a

demand

for African

‘Freedom’ and self-determination. (‘You cannot build on the work of a foreigner. His word should be drowned in deep waters

by God. His rule should be brought to an end. In this country of ours, Kenya, let the black people govern themselves alone.’ 1

Welbourn, East African Rebels p. 133, SCM Press Ltd., 1961. Majdalaney, State of Emergency, p. 70, Longmans, 1962. L. P. Mair, British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 2, p. 175, 1958. F. D. Corfield, Historical Survey of the Origins and Growth of Mau F. B.

,

2 F. 3

4

Mau,

p. 9, Pier Majesty’s Stationery Office.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

200

you look around the whole of Kenya, it is only a river of blood; for we have our one single purpose, to lay hold of Kenya’s ‘If

freedom.’)

Within the revolutionary national aspect

was

reflected

forest context, this secular- African

and symbolized

in the

demand

for

‘Land and Freedom’. As will be noted, ‘freedom’ was seldom if ever viewed as a specifically Kikuyu or tribal objective, but rather as the end-product of a successful African struggle vis-a-vis

the

European adversary

white

settler rule.

return

when our

for independence

from colonial and

(‘Mother, whether you cry or not,

lands are recovered;

when we

I’ll

only

obtain land and

African freedom.’)

With

respect to ‘land’, however, the objective

was more often

than not seen in tribal or specifically Kikuyu terms. Thus, in song and prayer, the common reference is to the land left to the Kikuyu by Ngai or the mythical ancestors of the tribe, Gikuyu and Mumbi; and its recovery from European hands is viewed as a Kikuyu objective. (‘O God, the most powerful We praise Thee for guarding us throughout the day. We have raised our hands to show You that the soil you gave our forefathers is now being used by strangers, who robbed us of our lands, our gift, our inheritance. These strangers are killing us for our land.’ ‘I’ll never leave Jomo, I’ll never leave him; since I’ve been solemnly promised the return of our land.’) !

The

secular aspect of

Mau Mau

had both an around the aim

ideology, then,

African national dimension, centering largely and concept of ‘freedom’, and a tribal dimension framed in terms of specific Kikuyu claims to alienated land. The revolution’s political

frame of reference was thus African national,

agrarian frame of reference, Kikuyu tribal. The non-secular or sacred aspect of Mau

Mau

its

ideology was

framed largely in terms of moral-religious precepts, according to which the secular aims of the revolution were seen as sanctioned and legitimized by a higher, supernatural power. Most important among these precepts were the following, repeated over and over again in song, prayer and oath, (i) ‘We have been wronged by the Europeans; our cause and struggle are just and right.' (‘God created Gikuyu and Mumbi and placed them in Gikuyuland; they were deceived by the Europeans and their land was stolen.’ ‘Sorrow and trouble came with the white

!

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE man; when we accepted them they tormented because we are black; we

stole

201

our land.’ ‘We are

are not of the whites and

do not share their blessings, but our God is before us !’) (2) God is just and powerful; right will prevail over might.’ (‘Please, O God Look mercifully upon the spilt blood of our brethren and heai' our call and cry. We have not weapons to fight against these people, but we believe Thy sword will defeat our enemies; for we are your sons and daughters and do not believe you created us to become servants of other people in the land you blessed and gave to our ancestors, Gikuyu and Mumbi.’ ‘Have no fear in your hearts, God is in heaven. Be brave, God’s power is here and the Europeans will be driven out.’) (3) ‘A just cause must nonetheless be fought for ; God helps those who help themselves’ (‘Warriors of Gikuyu, awake Ye who cannot see that the old man grows older. If you sleep the foreigners will seize all our wealth and then what will the children of Mumbi feed on?’ ‘You of the House of Mumbi, even if you are oppressed do not be afraid in your hearts; a Kikuyu proverb says “God helps ‘

!

!

those

who

help themselves”.’)

Combined with a reaffirmation of certain common traditional values and customs, precepts such as these provided the Movement and revolution with a ‘moral force’, a conviction that the struggle was just and a belief that right would prevail over might.

It is

quite likely that similar convictions have formed an

integral part of all revolutionary ideologies.

Together with their incorporated secular aims, these moralreligious precepts and beliefs also performed an important unifying or integratory function, linking in

common

cause and

brotherhood a vast majority of the previously dispersed and frequently conflicting Kikuyu, Embu and Meru groups. To the extent, however, that this was achieved through the use of specifically

Kikuyu symbols, persons

ation tended to be excluded,

if

non-Kikuyu tribal affilinot alienated, from the revoluof

tionary movement.

Though

the religious aspect of

Man Mau

ideology contained

a syncretic quality, with various aspects of Old Testament Christianity found interwoven with their Kikuyu counterparts, it

was framed

and concepts. form as repre-

largely in terms of traditional beliefs

Christianity, particularly in

its

institutionalized

sented by the missions, was avowedly rejected. In the black-

202

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

white struggle,

it

was viewed

essentially as just

another aspect

European domination. (‘Between a missionary and a settler, there is no difference’ a Kikuyu saying.) We are now, I believe, in a better position to understand the role and ideological implications of the mundo mugo among Aberdare guerrilla groups. Largely isolated within the forest and without the direct participation of their more highly educated and cosmopolitan leaders, the peasant forces of this period tended to place considerable weight on the specifically Kikuyu of

—

aspects of their composite ideology.

Kenya African

nationalism,

though by no means disappearing, was forced into the background by a strong sense of Kikuyu ‘nationalism’ or tribalism. The felt need for tribal unity no mean achievement in its own right and in large measure accomplished by mid- 1953 led to emphasis being placed on the more specific grievances of the Kikuyu peasantry, particularly those centering around land and the dominant position of the European settler. And the increasing anti-white, anti-mission feelings, together with an equally strong desire to recover the lost dignity, the surrendered ‘manhood’, of

—

—

conditioned the reaffirmation of certain aspects of traditional Kikuyu law and custom.

the tribe,

It is in this light that

we must view

the role of the

mundo

mugo. With the rejection, for the most part, of Christianity, went a reaffirmation of the merits and credibility of the old religion and its legitimate ‘professional’ practitioners. Traditionally, however, magical and religious beliefs were interwoven within a single system of thought which, particularly among the illiterate peasantry, had been supplemented rather than dis-

placed by Christianity over the preceding fifty years. The magicoreligious beliefs prevalent within the ranks of the guerrilla fighters, therefore, and the widespread acceptance of the legiti-

mate military

and prophetic powers of the mundo mugo are best understood as continuities in traditional Kikuyu culture which were both reinforced and, to a considerable degree, reshaped by the forces operating within the revolutionary context role

,

of 1953.

As we

shall see, the actual

powers of the

seers in

determining

or influencing military policy and tactics varied considerably from group to group, depending in large part upon the import-

ance

attached

to

magico-religious

beliefs

by the individual

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE

203

There was, in addition, considerable variation over time in the role and importance of the mundo mugo. Though the ‘moral strength’ derived by the forest fighters from their beliefs in the prophesies and magical powers of the seers is difficult to assess, it must be objectively noted that the seer’s role was of dubious military value and a source of both stress and internal conflict within the revolutionary movement. leaders.

The

following

wounds, of

day,

after

cleansing

and dressing

my

patients’

whom many

were almost healed, I climbed up the hill with Mathenge and other leaders to spend the day warming by the sun’s heat. At about 10 a.m., four Harvards started bombing

H.Q. area with much stronger bombs than before. The bombing lasted fifteen minutes, followed by five minutes of firing from their machine guns. During the bombing I saw a few persons run the

many others, including myself, ran under down on our stomachs with our noses almost

into their holes, while

and lay touching the ground and held soil in our hands amidst the horrible thunders of exploding bombs, which echoed as death hoots to me, and the frightening earth tremors. In the fainting breath, each said his own prayers, asking God to save his life and to avenge big trees

against the injustices of our strong enemies.

we were very much anxious to know whether they had caused casualties. They had dropped one bomb right inside the camp and another at the edge. Luckily there were no people in the camp at the moment for they were all on the hillside where the airplanes could not bomb successfully. Though there was no person injured, the day was referred to as After the departure of the Harvards

‘the first

heavy

air raid.’

We

suspected that a captive

—

—

for there

were no surrenderees by then had pointed out to the Government the site of H.Q. but since these airplanes went on bombing other areas in which there were no camps we concluded that it was a mere guessing of where the camp could be and our warriors ;

continued to

On

live in the

H.Q.

the 2 1 st June, under the authority of Mathenge,

letter to

each leader notifying him that the

‘all

letter to the

Government saying

:

wrote a

out attack’ would

be on 25 June 1953, commencing at 7 130 p.m.

propaganda

I

I

also wrote a

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

204

The June 25th raid is an example of our planned series of attacks. The Europeans and Asians who are with us are very much engaged in the making of guns and plans. We are certain that our next all-out attack will make you flee our country or commit suicide. The more you punish the civilians in the more they hate you and the more they join our forces. We are glad that you are spending thousands of pounds daily paying pilots’ wages, oil and bombs which kill hundreds of buffoloes, elephants, deer, etc., and only supply us with plenty of meat right here in the forest. Whatever worst you do against reserves, the

us,

God changes

it

to be

our best help.

Yours Victoriously, General Stanley Mathenge After reading to Mathenge the propaganda letter

I

had drafted,

he was very pleased with me and said that the letter should be posted as it was near Munyange Police Post. All the other letters were dispatched the following morning and all the messengers

were

to report at

H.Q. on the evening

of the 24th that they

had

delivered the messages.

When Kihara Kagumu

on the morning of the 25th he reported to Mathenge that the H.Q. camp had selected 1,600 warriors who would participate in the all-out attack in 32 groups of 50

men

each.

visited the hospital

He

said that

each group was to be led by

a lieutenant or an appointed warrior and that they would all leave H.Q. at 4 p.m. so that they could see the security forces going to their guarding positions by 6 p.m. and then mark the ambush places, they it

would

The to

would then separate, each group heading

to the place

attack.

following

morning

the hospital at about

by a grenade.

I

an

7 130

injured a.m.,

his

warrior calf

was

brought

being badly torn

quickly applied a pad on the pressure point

and cleansed and dressed his wound. Meanwhile, hot soup was being prepared. As he was drinking the soup, he reported the [previous] night’s raid to me, saying that they arrived at the forest fringe before 6 p.m. and saw over 800 Devonshire personnel assisted by military and Home Guards taking their positions at all possible paths. They became frightened. They could pass their ambushers and carry on the plan, but they thought that the Devons would block their way back in such a way that they to stop bleeding

THE PROPHETS OF would

2 5

JUNE

TH

205

on their return journey or would remain in the reserve and continue a day battle which had not been planned. either be killed

1 he other reason

[i.e.,

for their failure to carry out the raid]

was

the superstitious beliefs which were being taught by the witchdoctors that if a deer or a gazelle passed across the path of a group that was going to raid, it indicated bad luck and the warriors

should abandon their plan. Twice a deer and a gazelle had crossed our way. 1 his [belief, he said,] was supported by many warriors who said that they disobeyed the same rule when they were going to raid

Othaya and

the result was very bad, as the seers

had

fore-

This caused their decision to put off the raid. Two of the groups of 50 understook the risk and decided to fulfill the plan, while the rest awaited at the forest border. The

cast.

was

one of the two groups that attacked a guard post and took away very many head of sheep and goats, of which some patient

were

lost in

in

and only 160 arrived at H.Q. The other bring 40 head of cattle. The patient continued

the darkness

group managed

to

was one of the guards who remained behind to fight the enemy who might follow the livestock. ‘When we passed the that he

Devons' ambush we were talking loudly as

all

happy about our

we approached

success.

the forest but

we

We

started

did not

know

Devons had heard the first group and had followed it to the forest edge, and that they were laying there waiting for us. We unknowingly entered their ambush, which we realized [only] when they opened fire on us. We were so near them that they used grenades, [one of] whose shells injured me. I think we must have lost some of our people there.’ The raid report was very disappointing. The seers had ruined our plans. It seemed to me that most of our warriors, including many of their section leaders, were under the command [i.e., influence] of the prophets. This was one of our great dangers I thought. If Government used these seers to help them, they could either lead that the

our warriors into Government ambushes or induce them to surrender claiming that they had been directed by God to convey this message to the people. I talked the matter over with Mathenge

and found that he also believed in witchcraft. I kept on thinking of a way which could turn our people from the prophets, but this was impossible until their messages were realized as a danger. I quickly learnt that

my

attempts to

make our

warriors turn against

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

206

the prophets were interpreted as urging

them

to disobey

God

s

messengers and thus disobey God’s instructions.

from H.Q. was that two armed warriors were still missing. It was suspected that they were casualties of the Devons. A group of people was sent out to search for them in the ambushed area near the forest edge while another group was sent

By

nightfall, the report

in the reserve to find

The

following day

out the current news about the raids.

we

received the news from the reserve mes-

sengers saying that they were told that

when

the day broke, the

Devons with some Home Guards (who reported the story to our messengers) went to check how many people they had killed. When they arrived at the place where they had opened fire, they did not see any corpses but there were blood trails. 1 hey followed the blood track thinking that it would lead them to some corpses. They unknowingly approached two injured warriors who opened fire killing two Devons. They were then both killed and their guns fell into Government hands. The corpses were exhibited to the reserve people.

H.Q. camp failed to raid on June 25th, the report in the reserve and from Government information through radio and newspapers indicated that the forest fighters were well organized, many in number, scattered everywhere, and that the raids had incurred heavy losses on the Government side in a single day.

Though

Up

the

H.Q. had an average of two raids a week on either military, police or Home Guard centers, followed by ambushes in which Government attempted to enter the H.Q. It just serves here to say that the Government had four and a half months of trial and error in which it lost many of its forces [as well as] arms and ammunition which increased the strength of our warriors. The road from the reserve to Kariaini H.Q. was as wide as many of the vehicle roads today in the reserve and had been known by the Government forces as ‘the road to death.’ I think that an account of some of our early successes would make the reader to this date, the

[better able] to figure out a bit of the fight in the forest. It

was about 10 a.m. on

watchmen reported

May

5th, before

my

arrival,

when our

had seen about two thousand men and women led and guarded by military, Home Guards and some Europeans marching toward Kariaini Forest squatter gardens with that they

the intention of uprooting

nduma

(arrowroots), potatoes

and

all

THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE

207

the remaining foodstuffs so that our warriors

would not get any more food from those gardens. Our guards were strengthened and set off to meet them in the gardens with a warning to take care not to shoot the civilians. As soon as our warriors were ready, they sounded bugles at different positions which indicated the opening of

fire.

Five

When

the

civilians

heard

the

bugles

they ran

away.

dead while the others made off following the civilians. They were quickly followed [and our fighters succeeded in] killing three more and capturing one Home Guard, thirty old men and fifty women. A few warriors were left guarding the captives while the others chased the military right military

inside

persons

the reserve.

Two

Ihuririo about a mile

fell

military persons dropped their guns at

from the

Our

forest fringe.

warriors collected

and returned to the forest, releasing all the captives who wanted to go back. A dozen old men and eight women, who wished to join us, were taken to H.Q. Our warriors gained two Sten guns and nine shotguns in that unprepared fight. the guns

Our enemies disadvantage.

ignorance of things in the forest was their great

When we saw them

they would have to follow

—for

coming, and knowing the path

we used

to

stay at the forest

and count the enemies before they approached the forest we would then deploy ourselves along the path, out of sight, and when their last man passed our ambush we would open fire, killing some and forcing the rest into the depths of the forest. fringes, observe

—

Once caught

in the heart of the forest

it

was very unlikely that

they would escape ; often they would run into others of our fighters or be killed by the wild forest rhinos or buffaloes.

When,

sometimes happened, one or two Government soldiers escaped from the forest and returned to his camp, reporting about as

the ambush, reinforcements were often rushed to the spot where the fighting

had occurred with the

and their injured comrades. Knowing these reinforcements were coming we would usually move a mile or two from the place of ambush toward the reserve and deploy again along the paths we suspected the Government forces would follow. Not suspecting that we would come closer to their base and the reserves, these forces often walked straight into another

ambush

intentions of collecting guns

similar to the

first.

Another way in which our fighters trapped the security forces was to go out of the forest and then march single file singing back into the forest, leaving a very clear track for

Government

to follow.

M A U M A U FROM WITHIN

208

They would then circle back and lay in wait for their trackers and forces to come along the path which they had prepared for ambush. Many encounters were those in which the Government forces followed livestock thinking that the camp would be far away inside and perhaps that they would find us slaughtering the animals and even making a (lot of noise which would make them detect our presence. We always had our ambushers in such tracks for a distance of at least five miles from the camp. the dense forest

In successful such encounters indicated above, deal of arms and ammunition.

The

we gained a

great

other sources were raiding

camps and posts and ambushing individual personnel in the reserves and towns, raiding European homes stealing guns, buying from police, military, Home Guards and from Europeans and Indian traders and opportunists. Among the Government servicemen were our members and sympathizers who supplied us with ammunition free of payment. When our members were issued with arms and ammunition by the Government in order to join the Home Guards, some of them fled to the forest with all their supplies. Bullets had become token payment [from security force personnel] to prostitutes who later sent them to our warriors.

The Government reaction against our June 25th raids was very bad. The survivors [i.e., peasant civilians] were forced to rebuild all the roads and bridges, and construct new roads so that military vehicles could move more quickly and easily from one place to another. That was the beginning of the daily communal fatigue [i.e., under the supervision of armed Home Guards, in which all able bodied civilians in the reserves were forced to spend all the day constructing new roads which would have taken a century to construct. Contour and bench terracing was the other project, and building police and Home Guard posts and digging trenches to surround those posts for protection. [Later, the peasants were labor]

forced] to build to 75s. so that its

forces

on the All

new

enclosed villages. Personal tax was increased

Government could

and partly

to repair the

more money for maintaining damage caused by our warriors

get

all-out attack.

the

Kenya Europeans were mobilized

Kenya Regiment. With

to

strengthen

their arrival in the reserves the brutality

of shooting civilians in cold blood increased. Their motto

only good Kikuyu

is

the

was ‘The

a dead one.’ During this month [June] in

my

— THE PROPHETS OF 25TH JUNE

209

Richard Gituro, Itong’e Gicuhi, Rong’o Kibico and Juma Muteru were called out of their houses, taken to Kamoko Home Guard center where they were badly beaten, [it being] alleged that they had helped Mau Aiau with food. Each was then taken out of the camp in turn and shot. Irungu Mukuru had been shot on the same day on his way to Ndunyu Market. [There was also an] increase of inhuman torture in the local camps, e.g., men castrated, beatings aiming at fracturing a limb, location,

putting thabai or hatha

—poisonous

stinging plant leaves of the

which causes great pain and swelling for half a day in women’s vaginas, pressing hard breasts or testicles with pliers. At this time, Ihururu Center in the North Tetu Location of Nyeri had been exercising all those tortures. By the same time Simba Camp ( Kambi ya Simba) in Thomson’s Falls District and another camp in Bahati area of the Rift Valley on the farm of a well-known settler named Felth were reported to be the worst in torturing. Hundreds of persons who fell victim of these tortures can be seen anywhere in the country or in towns as crippled beggars having nettle family

one or both

arms or suffering other deformities. I have come across six castrated men, one of whom, Kamau Njoroge, was nicknamed Mapengo [toothless] due to the absence of his front teeth in both jaws which he lost at Simba Camp. He lived with me in Athi River and Lodwar detention camps. lost

legs or

In addition to the killings, beatings and torture, starvation was accelerated in which thousands of children and old aged persons

was started by the repatriation of many many thousand Kikuyu from the Rift Valley and Nairobi into the reserves followed by the repatriation of forest squatters in both Mt. Kenya and the died.

T.

his

Aberdares. Thirdly, the eviction of people from a one to two mile

around the mountains in early June. This decreased the areas of food production and caused over 250,000 people to be homeless, landless, jobless and helpless; in addition to this there were strict curfews and they were forced to work on communal fatigue all days getting no food and no pay and losing time to attend their gardens where they could get something to keep them alive. To make it worse, in late July an order was issued in many parts of Fort Hall and Nyeri for cutting down all maize plants strip all

(our chief food)

—

just at the point of their bearing

canes, etc., thus losing the whole harvest. It

Mau

were hiding

in

the gardens

—bananas, sugar

was alleged that

and therefore

all

Mau

the gardens

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

210 must be It

is

cleared.

now

The motive behind

possible

to

figure

it

was

to accelerate hunger.

out the conditions of the hungry,

and homeless peasants where, in the nights, at an altitude over 6,000 feet, the heavy long rains join the winter months of June, July and August when thick mists and showers continue most of the time and the temperature falls down to an average of 55 °F. and more than a fortnight can pass without seeing the sun. Much later, in 1955, after thousands of children and old aged persons had died, the International Red Cross came to aid the survivors. It was reported to me that a group of the old aged persons were taken from my village to the Chief’s Center to be fed by the Red Cross; none of them survived. It is worthwhile mentioning here that children suffered most due to the absence of their parents, exploited

being either

much

killed,

detained or in the

forests.

Our

warriors were

and livestock into the forest and the security forces were feeding on the remainder. The starvation caused the peasants to eat any edible leaves such as sweet

taking

of the foodstuffs in the gardens

potato leaves in order to

live,

while disease in the unsanitary villages

forced villagization program was begun at the beginning of 1954] killed its share. In fact, the whole situation had become [i.e., by the [a

end

of 1955] the destruction of wealth

and

health.

1

CHAPTER

XIII

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q. As previously

noted, Government, during the

first

half of

953j was unable to make effective or sustained contact with the guerrilla forces operating within the forests. Its strategy, there1

fore,

was concentrated on breaking or

at least neutralizing the

popular base of the revolt among the peasant masses in the Kikuyu reserve. In addition to curfews, movement restrictions, new pass requirements, collective fines and punishment, ‘cleansing’ and counter-Mau Mau oathing campaigns and severe methods of interrogation, Government launched a strong antiMau Mau propaganda campaign, raised personal taxes and introduced a ‘communal’ or forced labor scheme whereby damaged roads and bridges could be repaired, guard and police posts erected and new agricultural schemes enforced without cost. The Kikuyu reserve was made a Special Area wherein a ,

when challenged could be shot, and the Kenya and Nyandarua were proclaimed Pro-

person failing to halt forests of

Mount

hibited Areas in

unauthorized Africans were to be to the latter area was a ioo-mile strip of

which

all

on sight. Added land, from one to three miles in width, lying between the forests and reserve. Here, all huts and graineries were burned, peasants evicted and crops slashed in an effort to prevent the flow of

shot

supplies into the forests.

the arrival in June 1953 of a new Commander-in-Chief, General Erskine, a somewhat revised strategy became apparent.

With

Government troops stepped up rillas

their attacks

on the

forest guer-

considerably. Five tracks were cut into the Aberdares

by an

imported team of Royal Engineers and forced Kikuyu labor, battalion-strength bases were established within the forest fringe from which sweeps and cordon operations were launched, and Lincoln heavy bombers began flying regular missions over the forest. To implement this new offensive strategy, security force strength was greatly increased and, by September, included the 21

MAU MAU FRO M WITHIN

212

39th Brigade of Buffs and Devons, the 49th Brigade of Royal Northumberland and Inniskilling Fusiliers, the East African Brigade of

six

KAR

the Lancashire Fusiliers, the East African units, an armoured car

battalions,

Kenya Regiment and two division

and a squadron of Lincolns

and over 10,000 creased to 21,000

—a

total of eleven battalions

In addition, the police force was inand the Kikuyu guard units to a some-

soldiers.

men

what higher figure. During the third quarter of 1953, then, the British and Kenya Governments were employing a force of well over 50,000 men against the Mau Mau insurgents. This shift in Government strategy obviously military situation of the forest guerrillas.

increased bombings and

enemy

affected

the

For one thing, the

bases within the forest

made

large concentrations of guerrilla fighters increasingly unfeasible

and, combined with other factors, led to the eventual break-up

and the other large camp-clusters. As Karari notes, many leaders and their followers had already shifted to the Rift Valley side of the forest by the time Kariaini H.Q. was overrun and its forces dispersed by the enemy on July. Some believed it sounder policy to base themselves on the western side of the range where they could both direct their attacks against European farms and stock and gain some relief for their hardpressed civilian supporters in the reserve. Supply problems had also exerted pressure on the large camp-clusters. The concenof Kariaini

1

1

tration of forest fighters tended to limit the area in the reserve

from which supplies, and particularly food, could effectively be drawn, thus placing severe burdens on relatively few Kikuyu locations.

Again, the

obtain supplies from to set

up camps

new

its

own

rule

sub-location obliged

closer to their

Rift Valley sections,

requiring each forest unit to

home

many

sections

areas in the reserve. For the

being without reserve sub-locations, this

ruling increased their desire to leave the eastern sector of the forest for the more familiar regions bordering the Settled Areas.

The continued Government the reserve,

and the resultant

operations in the area bordering dispersal

greatly reduced the effectiveness of the

of forest

forces,

also

Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council. No meetings could be convened and contact between the leaders was greatly hampered. Another consequence of the dispersal was to reaffirm the territorial basis of section recruitment. The smaller Nyeri forest camps established during this

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q.

213

period were comprised almost exclusively of persons from one or two sub-locations, while Rift Valley sections were composed largely of fighters

from the same general areas or

districts of the

'White Highlands’. Finally, the break-up of Kariaini and the other large camp-clusters led to the establishment of numerous small groups of men wishing both to escape military discipline

and avoid

clashes with the security forces.

These groups spent

most of their time hiding in the forest fringe or reserve bush. Their thefts of peasant crops and occasional raids on supporters’ stores and shops tended, of course, to alienate rather than win the respect of the peasant masses. These men were referred to by the organized forest guerrillas as komeraras a term normally used of persons or criminals in hiding from the law. ,

had moved from H.Q. to the Rift Valley in three groups and there were still 2,500 left. This number had to be reduced so that the supply of food would be even to other areas [i.e., so that other areas might contribute their share of food and other supplies]. The sub-locational food supply system which was introduced then angered the Rift Valley leaders and almost caused conflicts. The leaders in the H.Q. had been unable to keep an eye on all the warriors and it was reported from the reserve that our warriors were robbing both food and money from our associates [i.e., supporters]. For these reasons, Kamau Githongo, Gicuki Mugo, Kabuga Njogu and Gikonyo Kanyungu were to be given 300 people each and were asked to start their own camps by July 1st, leaving H.Q. with only 1,300, including those in the

By June

30th,

1,000 warriors

hospital.

week of July, a meeting was called for the Nyeri leaders to report on the June 25th attack. The meeting was held at the same place and organized in the same manner as the last meetDuring the

first

ing. All the leaders,

with the exception of the H.Q., reported their

had been planned. Though the H.Q. leaders were criticized for handing over their responsibility to warriors, no punishment was imposed on them; but they were warned not to do anything of that nature again. Each camp spent [i.e., retained] its own spoils with the exceptions of medicine, that was to be shared to H.Q. hospital, and more than three miles of water pipes which successes as

it

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

214

camps who had none. Gun

were to be erected and the necessary tools were to be obtained from our people in the reserves, e.g., hack-saws, files, door bolts, springs from

were

to be shared to the

rat traps, screws, chisels,

hammers,

factories

etc.

My

knowledge of the situation then [prevailing] in Kikuyu reserve made me think that it was absolutely wrong to make the Kikuyu reserve our battlefield. Our warriors were taking a good deal of food and the rest was being plundered by the security forces. I then addressed the leaders meeting appealing to them to

withdraw completely from all the forests adjacent to the Kikuyu reserve and move to the Rift Valley side where there was plenty of settlers’ fat cattle, merino sheep, pigs, poultry, big wheat stores, maize meal stores, etc., which belonged to our real enemies. If we moved there the Government would also withdraw its forces from the Kikuyu reserve following us and our people would be greatly relieved

and

also

have more to

the Rift Valley supported

me

who

eat. All those

while those

who

did not

Rift Valley opposed, giving their reasons that they did

where

to get food and, as this

couldn’t figure out the

way

lived in

know the not know

was done during the

night, they

unknown

When I person who

in

that

country.

pointed out to them that they would always have a

from the reserves would give the Home Guards much freedom to do what they liked to our women and children and also it would be reported as our defeat in their propaganda. I understood from their replies that they wanted to remain in the area they were familiar [with] and that they wanted to eliminate the Home Guards as they regarded them as our chief enemies. With this I noted that our people were losing sight of the enemy and that the enemies were creating enmity between [i.e., within] the Gikuyu tribe so that they would kill each other while the enemy would stand to restore peace after our tribe had been

knew

the areas well [with them], they replied that our absence

reduced to the number he wanted.

was disappointed by Mathenge for not supporting my suggestion. He said that it was alright for some people to move to the Rift Valley, while others remained to discipline the Home Guards. I

then dissolved. Nevertheless, as a result of my speech, a few groups moved to the Rift Valley side of the forest thus decreasing the strength of the H.Q. to around 800 warriors.

The meeting

Due

to

Government’s regular attacks on

H.Q.

—on

one of

— THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q.

215

which the Devons were seen by the guards just a few hundred yards from the camp very early in the morning before the sentries had started their duty Mathenge decided to move to Mumwe

—

stream near the women’s camp about border of bamboo and black forest. We

six miles north,

near the

H.Q. Kariaini on July 7th, escorted by twelve armed warriors and a young girl who acted as Mathenge’s cook and carrier. We spent a night at the women’s camp, enabling me to talk to my step-sister, Wambui, who was living there. She had earlier been Mathenge’s assistant in the reserve and had automatically moved with him into the forest. I learnt that only twenty-two

other

girls

left

women were

and women continued

their lovers against the rules.

in the

camp

while

many

camps with reason was that the

to live in different

understood the leaders themselves did not obey the rules for each continued to keep a girl in his hut. I

women

did not like the

unhappy

to see

my

I

to stay in the forest; in fact

step-sister in

arrangements for her to leave.

I

the forest.

I

I

was very

decided to

make

discussed the matter with Gicuki

Wacira who was then the incharge of the women’s camp and he agreed that his wife and daughter would also leave the forest. We sent them to 1 hegenge Location, Gacatha, and asked a friend of mine to take care of them. Though the man turned to become a Home Guard, they found other helpers till the end of the emergency.

The

following day,

we moved

three warriors, Mathenge, his girl

our new camp of six persons and me. Though our food supply

to

was from the women’s camp, only Gicuki knew the whereabouts of our camp. Mathenge had arranged a post [i.e., rendezvous] where we would meet our food and had warned all of us never to reveal our camp's situation. Nevertheless, the camp was situated about a mile east within scattered bamboos bordering the black forest under a big

camphor

which had

making a cave with sufficient room for about ten persons. Mathenge and his girl slept in a tent. On the fourth night in our new camp, which was the 1 ith July, we were all awakened by fire [i.e., gun-] shots at about 3 a.m. After tree

listening carefully,

We

we were

fallen

certain that the

H.Q. was

in

danger.

had earlier received information that the mobilized Kenya settlers under the leadership of the Kenya Regiment had entered the forest on the morning of 7th July in small groups of about a dozen people.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

2 16

The

following morning

we

received reports from Gicuki Wacira

Kenya Regiment incorporated with the Devons captured the H.Q. just at the time we heard the shots. He said that fifty warriors and seven girls had then arrived in his camp from H.Q. that the

and that the person who could report [personally] about H.Q. was at the food’s post. We went there with one warrior and found Samuel Wahihi with three other warriors. After greetings, Wahihi went on, ‘We had received a message from a seer saying that we should not sleep in the camp as Government would raid it during a night.

Many

people

who

believed in prophesy

left

camp

the

after

dinner and went to sleep on the mountain while a few slept in the camp. The enemies entered the camp without being noticed. We

were best

awakened by risk [chance] was all

their shots. to

We

could not return the

run away as quickly as possible.

fire. I

Our

cannot

would say that it was very difficult to run away as the dense bamboo had made a great wall in the darkness which knocked everyone down tell

how many

people have died, but from experience,

after every five yards or

‘Why had no

To

so.’

did you disobey the seer?’

Mathenge enquired

now I believe have known this long

faith in them, but

Wahihi. ‘You should prove

his faith,

I

he showed us

his

‘I

they have power,’ said before,’ said

Lucky-charm

—

angrily.

Mathenge.

—a small leather

pouch which he carried in his pocket that protects him and has power to frighten others. He said that all military'', police and Government officers had the same talisman commonly fixed in their belts or just put in their pockets. He said that he was in the Second World War where he learnt this fact. Wahihi said that they had two persons wounded in their legs and a third one in the forearm. He affirmed that none had any fracture but there were many others who had been hurt by stumps, thorns or the dried bamboos. I went with them to dress the patients. I always carried some medicine in my kitbag together with the record books. When I arrived, I found that they had all been well dressed as every camp had a dresser. After a little talk with them, I returned to our camp. I told Mathenge that the patients were not badly injured and that they would soon recover. He sent me to the hospital to bring his belongings and tell the hospital to move to a new site and spy whether the enemies were still in H.Q. or had left. He asked me to observe and assess the damage in H.Q. On the morning of 13th July, I started my six mile journey

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q.

21J

toward H.Q. with six armed escorts from the women’s camp. On our way we could see the enemies’ foot marks returning [i.e., leading away] from the H.Q.

We

were afraid to follow the main path, so we made our way through the bush and on our arrival at H.Q. we noticed that some huts were still burning as the enemy had set many of them on fire while knocking down others. We looked for corpses but did not see any; though we saw lumps of blood and two bands of fifty rounds of ammunition each. We continued our journey to the hospital and found that all had

moved safely, leaving two guards for us as Mathenge had told Gathuku that he would collect his belongings on that day. The two guards told us that the enemies did not see the hospital as they were misled by our many paths up the hill leading only to where our warriors spent the day warming by the sun’s heat; but they

saw Wacira’s camp on

their

way home and found nobody

as everyone left safely while the enemies

‘We

spied on the

were

still

H.Q. yesterday afternoon

firing at

there

H.Q.

after the enemy’s

departure, continued one of the guards, ‘and were surprised by the big fire of the burning huts. We found five corpses; each had one hand cut off at the wrist. We took them out of the camp and

buried them.

We

as the rest dispersed in later

how many warriors died many areas; but many corpses were seen and it was believed that many collapsed

could not

around that area

tell,

though,

unseen. Thereafter, the four other guards

and followed the patients to Kigumo and then to a new camp site near the Chania River about 35 miles to the northwest. We were ordered to wait for you for three days. If you failed to come, we would go to the women s camp and ask for some warriors who would carry the [i.e.,

left

us

Mathenge’s] luggage.’

They then showed us where they had hidden the luggage and we hurriedly carried them and started return journey. Arriving at H.Q. ruins, we were spotted by two warriors and a girl who had spent almost two days without knowing the whereabouts of the others. 1 hey joined us and freed our warriors by carrying their

Leaving H.Q. we could see some smoke from the Kenya Regiment base four miles inside the forest. One of our companions remarked that that was the place they had killed twenty-eight head

on 11th July when they found that the Kenya Ng’ombe had blocked their way. On our way, I spotted a group of Kenya Ng’ombe sitting down

of cattle

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

2l8

bamboos about fifty yards from me. I signalled to my group asking them to retreat. Four of them ran away when they saw the white forces. We followed a muirigo [path] on a ridge leading into the heart of the forest which had been trod by many enemies a few hours past. After a short distance we arrived at a place where another enemy group had taken lunch. They had left some opened tinned food which we thought were poisoned, a new panga and a knife tied to a thin green wire and connected to a buried grenade. One of my companions was about to pull the panga when I shouted to him to stop. I told them that it was a mine trap and would kill us all if it exploded. We changed our direction and moved northward across hills and valleys and many streams. At each stream we found a big track of the Kenya Regiment moving upstream. I began to wonder whether we would ever meet the camps we were heading for. There were echoes of shootings in many areas and the enemy’s method of searching out a camp was unknown to our warriors. By following a stream, the enemies would enter our camps unseen, while the sentries would be guarding the camps’ entrances. Their distribution seemed as if they were covering the whole forest. We had lost our way and I was leading my group according to my thinking taking their lunch under the

whereabouts the camp might be.

enough

When we

arrived at a

bamboo

hundred yards in every direction, I told my people to rest and have lunch. While we were having lunch we spotted our four persons who had run away. One of them lost his luggage and they were not certain of the direction they were moving. At 3 p.m. we continued our journey, arriving at an enemies’ deserted camp; they had cleared it by cutting down trees which had been thrown as if they were building a fence. They had buried everything, even their fireplaces, leaving the camp very clean. At about 4 in the afternoon, airplanes started dropping food to their forces and we could then learn whereabout their camps were that evening and learnt that they had passed us. We arrived, safely and tired, at the women’s camp at 5 130 p.m., though having many scratches of strawberry [thorns] on our faces, arms and legs. Gicuki told me that some guards had seen a group of 15 Kenya Ng’ombe passing along the muirigo on the ridge behind the camp. He added that sentries had been posted in every possible direction for the enemies to enter the camp. I learned that section that

was

clear

for

anyone

to see at least a

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q.

219

he had not posted any guards down or up stream which I instructed him to do the following morning. After arranging with him that Mathenge’s luggage should be brought the following morning to our post store, I left with one escort to our [camphor tree]

camp.

I

then reported

he commented that

my

journey to Mathenge, after which

was difficult for us to fight against Government forces on any unplanned fight and the best we could do was to hide our footprints and if they missed us they would go out of the forest and we would plan our attacks. ‘I shall go with you tomorrow to the women’s camp to instruct them how to hide their it

footprints,’ [he concluded].

The

we were

following day

women’s camp; Mathenge went on instructing the warriors how to hide footprints by moving on their toes or heels, straightening any fallen weeds behind, stepping on the dry leaves or on hard soil, moving backwards when at the

crossing a road or path so that the footprints trackers.

He

them

to

until

the enemies

may

mislead the

pray hard and to obey the seers’ instructions, remarking that those who had obeyed the seers were not in the camp when H.Q. was raided. He added that the dead ones must be the disobedient ones. He suggested that no one should leave the

told

camp

had

and that rations should be reduced to keep us longer. He bid them farewell and deceived them [by saying] that we were leaving for Mt. Kenya. When we went at Gicuki’s hut for a meal, he reported that he was faced by a great difficulty of defenseless and helpless women in his camp. He supposed that if all women were in his camp as our rule suggested it would result in a failure for [there would be] more food consumers than food carriers to bring the food and [not enough warriors to] defend them. He asked what would happen if the camp was dispersed by the enemies whereby a group of ten women found themselves without a man or with one or two men. He pointed out that our rule referring to women should be reviewed and amended. He remarked that most of the warriors and mostly the leaders had not observed that rule and if they took the

responsibility

of

their

lovers

the

left

better

the forest

for

us.

Mathenge

promised that he would call a leaders meeting as soon as the enemies left the forest. We returned to our camp to hide ourselves for the rest of the month.

On how

the

w ay r

I

they would

considered

how our

be contacted

warriors were dispersed and

again

after

establishing

several

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

220

would be difficult to get them again in one camp; how Mathenge had left H.Q. in the hands of a group of leaders of almost equal rank though Kihara Kagumu was the only one bringing reports to Mathenge regularly; how Mathenge had camps; how

it

and command in his hands; how he was controlled by superstition beliefs. I began to wonder how much he could do for the leadership he was responsible. I became worried whether Kimathi was of the same type and before reaching any decisions I arrived at our camp. During the [next] two weeks, our warriors were confronted by the diehard Kenya Regiment. The difference between the Devons and the Kenya Regiment was that the latter wanted to kill us while the Devons wanted to capture us. Two warriors reported different tales to me. One was chased by a group of Devons and when his raincoat was grabbed [i.e., caught in a bush] he took it off and managed to run away. The Devons did not fire any shot at him. Another was found in a tree taking honey from a beehive and was asked by Devons to come down slowly. Full of fear and almost certain of his death, he landed on the ground and ran into the bush. He told me that they did not fire at him or chase him, but [instead] he heard them laughing. The Kenya Ng’ombe wanted only to kill as many Kikuyu as possible. As the sons of settlers they showed no mercy. It was reported to me later by our warriors who made contact with them that they never left behind their arms or corpses, unless they were all dead. One of our successful sections which managed to kill a dozen of the Kenya Ng’ombe told me that they believed the Regiment’s motto was to maintain their Bren gun. ‘Whenever we shot their Bren gun man,’ [they said, ‘he] shouted “Johnny, come to the Bren gun, I’ve been shot by a bloody fakin Mau Mau,” and another one moved over to operate it. We were in a position that we could see them all; they were descending a deep valley and we were on the next ridge. The distance was about 200 yards. When the last man fell from the Bren gun, we did not stop firing. We took time to aim at their corpses until we were certain that they were all dead as we had learnt that their injured ones pretended to be dead and had [earlier] killed eight of our warriors with grenades. It took us an hour to get there. We collected one Bren gun, two Sten guns, two Patchet guns, three rifles, two shot guns, three automatic pistols, two dozen grenades, ammunition, started to hide instead of taking leadership

:

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAINI H.Q. and medicine.

clothes, food

Kangima

signalled to

We

22

I

took their telephone wireless and

center reporting that

we had captured one

and that we wanted the Government to send food by air for their people at the source of Mathioya River about ten miles west of where we were. But the Government dropped bombs of their sections

We

instead of food.

One

of the

warriors into

then destroyed the telephone wireless.’

Kenya Regiment’s achievements was

many

to disperse

our

many

in-

small sections out of which grew

capable self-styled leaders whose leadership was [concerned with] how to get food and how to hide. We called these groups komcrera.

Once they found

many

aside

that they were masters of themselves, they cast

of our rules, took the law in their

own hands and

ful-

7 hey robbed and disturbed our associates in acquired money from our members at gun point,

filled their pleasures.

the reserves,

abducted

many

girls to

some absurd and

the forest, raping some,

illegal types of oaths.

Some

and administered

established themselves

as leaders in the reserve while others claimed that they

top leaders’ messengers. [i.e.,

The komerera

leaders

had no

were the

priority to

clearly defined roles or privileges vis-a-vis] their warriors other

than to be called leader; while they acted and lived as equals

in

camps they became very popular to their warriors. They all [i.e., many] didn’t like to be ruled again and started to hide from us the same way as they hid from Government forces. We had a great deal of trouble hunting these outlaws and disciplining them again; a threat of shooting them if they refused to return to their former camps under the recognized leaders was issued and there was no resistance once they were caught but it was difficult to find their camps. Eventually, most of them returned to their recogtheir

—

nized leaders.

The bad weather helped

Kenya Regiment and the Devons out of the forest, which enabled Mathenge to call a meeting of the leaders in Kigumo and Kariaini areas to amend the women’s rule by the end of July. The meeting was held near the women’s camp, [attended by] thirteen leaders and Mathenge in us to drive the

continued

my

the chairmanship.

I

a long discussion

was resolved that

(1) (

2)

A

it

or a

woman

job to record the minutes. After

should be regarded as a regular warrior. Their work in camp should be fetching firewood, cooking girl

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

222

and serving the whole camp, cleaning utensils, mending warriors clothes and washing leaders’ clothes. and each woman must live (3) Every girl must be married with her husband in their hut or tent as they liked. announce these marriages in the (4) Each camp leader must presence of all people and the party concerned could inform their parents in the reserve

if

they wanted.

Either of the couple, or an outside warrior, would receive

(5)

25 strokes

if

found guilty of seducement.

was agreed that the lost small groups of warriors be searched and brought to the camps and that further plans of attacking the enemy would be considered after resettlement. The meeting ended. As I was growing dissatisfied with the deficiency of plans and It

ideology,

I

my

decided to talk to seven of

location leaders includ-

by pointing out how children and women were starving of hunger in the reserves and how we continually grabbed the little food they had to keep them alive. ‘We are able to go anywhere we like,’ [I said,] ‘and take whatever we want by force; but our children, wives and parents have no alternatives ing Mathenge.

I

started

other than to wait for their death either of starvation or the enemies’ stroke.

I

we moved to the Rift Valley we and leave what we are using now to the

think that

could get plenty to eat

if

starving ones. In addition to this, our location

Government believes Mahiga has taken the oath which is almost

ment’s

blacklist

as

the

—

three persons have not taken the oath, of

Mau Mau; why

home supply ‘We want

[base] to,

don’t you

want

on the Govern-

that

everyone

in

true; only twenty-

whom

already been killed. Government believes that nursery of

is

it

about half have is

the

home and

to preserve

it

as

our

?’

but how?’ one replied. ‘By shifting our battlefield

from our location to the Rift Valley,’ [I answered.] ‘You must be aware that whenever we kill or bum a Home Guard’s house, their revenge is between ten and twenty times on the same object. It is true that we lose more and give the Government a chance it wants for killing our people; for even the

of our tribe

would

and population.

If

we

be] better than to lose him.

Home Guard

himself

is

a part

could get him to work for us

[We

should] fight our enemies

in the forests, in the Special Areas, in their

place of contact, avoiding fights in the

[it

camps and at any other villages and assassinations in

THE BREAK-UP OF THE KARIAI N H.Q. I

223

the villages in order to safeguard] the civilians. If

we could

the settlers’ homes, livestock, plants

they would lose

hope

and

stores,

destroy

country and decide to quit.’ Kabuga Njogu, the first supporter, continued to point out what works our prisoners, i.e., Home Guards, could do to develop our country, especially the road making, [after we were victorious.] Ngara Gitegenye, the first opposer, did not favor the idea of sparing in this

Home

the

He

Guards.

suggested that our warriors should fight

only the enemies in their [home] areas. Mathenge, who spoke last, supported my idea, adding that some people should remain in that area in order to check the enemies lest they construct permanent

camps

during our absence, which would be difficult for us to drive out. The rest supported my idea wholeheartedly and we resolved never again to commit an action in Mahiga Location in the forest

would cause Government

that

to revenge

on the

civilians.

Though

our sections moved to the Rift Valley and returned several times, we kept our resolution to the end of the emergency and thus decreased the direct killing of our people in the reserve by the

Government forces. Mathenge, as the chief leader and oath administrator in the reserve, had collected a great deal of money in Nairobi, our location and division and some other divisions. We had little to buy with

money

from

spoils.

apart from clothing, as most of our supplies were

When

money he

I

enquired of him what he intended to do with

me

would help those who are in need. I pointed out to him some widows with orphan children. We selected 30 women, including his wife and my step-mother, whom we granted 20s. each, and 20 more women whom we granted 10s. each. We appointed Kabingu, King’ori and another warrior to the

distribute the

When

told

money

that he

to the owners.

the Devons and the

Kenya Regiment

left

the forest, they

spent the next two weeks making a line of ambushes

all

along the

edge throughout the night. They stationed armoured cars with caterpillar wheels [i.e., tanks] on many ridges which continued forest

shooting

propelled

shells

or cannons

covering three miles distance inside

and mortars at intervals, the forest. Sometimes they

used strong machines which shot more than 25 miles in the forest. All these forces started firing from the forest edge at 4 p.m. and continued at one hour intervals in order to frighten our warriors.

As our warriors

— 150

from H.Q. and the women’s camp had

set

224

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

—

up another camp near ours at Mumwe learned that our enemy s were more prepared during the nights than in the days, they decided to raid the Home Guard herds in the Special Area at 2 in the afternoon. After a short exchange of fire, the Home Guards ran away and our forty warriors brought 130 head of cattle. They passed by our camp without knowing. When we saw them we asked them to give us one fat bullock which we slaughtered at our camp. They took the rest to the women’s camp and shared it to other camps.

CHAPTER

XIV

THE MWATHE MEETING In

mid-august

953, after almost eight months of open revolt, a general meeting of Aberdare fighters was held near the of

1

banks of Mwathe stream on the eastern edge of the moorlands. In the present chapter Karari vividly recalls his journey to the moorlands and the many events, great and small, which occurred there during the five-day Mwathe meeting. Of primary importance was the formation of the Kenya Defence Council, a body comprised of all recognized forest leaders and headed by Dedan Kimathi and six other elected officers. The Kenya Defence Council represented the first attempt by Aberdare leaders to bring the guerrilla units operating in the four major regions of Nyandarua (i.e., Nyeri, Murang’a, Nderagwa and North Kinangop) under a unified military command and to integrate all of the revolutionary forces both within and outside the forest under a central governing council. At Mwathe a number of steps were taken to accomplish this task eight Land and Freedom Armies were named, together with their commanders and areas of operation formal military ranks were issued following the British pattern an overall military strategy was agreed upon, as well as a uniform set of rules and regulations; and a unified :

—

;

;

record system was devised and

Though

men

assigned to administer

the specific powers of the

it.

Kenya Defence Council

were never spelled out in detail, they were generally conceived to be those necessary for the overall planning and coordination of the military campaign. Like the Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council, however, the Kenya Defence Council was granted a considerable measure of policy- and decision-making power by its leader-members, but very little in the way of administrative and enforcement machinery. Its rulings, tactical policies and organizational programs were, to a large extent, left to lower-level leaders to administer and enforce. That so much authority was delegated to, or left in the hands of, individual section leaders is best understood as reflecting the actual distribution of effective 225

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

226

power among the various forest leaders, each of whom possessed his own following and forest sphere of influence. The Kenya Defence Council, and the formal military hierarchy it created, thus tended to legitimize rather than alter the positions previously held by the guerrilla leaders. Later we shall examine some of the

advantages,

frailties

and ramifications of

this relatively

and the loosely knit organization of over which it held nominal control.

central council forces

The thunders

weak

guerrilla

war and revolution invariably upset the established familial patterns and sexual norms of conduct of a people. Within the forest, the role and position of girls and women who traditionally played no part whatever in Kikuyu military affairs was highly ambiguous and tended to shift as the battle lengthened. At the outset, as we have seen, the tendency was for women to assume their normal domestic duties and tasks despite the radically altered conditions of life and military setting in the forest. For a time, the traditional taboo on sexual intercourse for acdve warriors was upheld, thus reducing the potential strain and conflict inherent in the numerical discrepancy between males and females i.e., women never comprised more than 5 per of

—

—

cent of the total forest population. But the sexual taboo operative in the olden days of brief

against the

Kikuyu

raids

and defensive encounters

Masai could not be maintained

as the revolt stretched

from weeks into months.

The

violation of the taboo

The

revision of rules pertaining to

on sexual intercourse, and the conflicts engendered thereby, led to an early ruling by the Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council according to which women were to be segregated from the men and sustained within camps of their own. This ruling, however, was never fully implemented or enforced. Many of the warriors, and particularly the leaders, refused to comply with the rule and be separated from their wives or sweethearts. Again, those women who were gathered together in women’s camps constituted too heavy a burden for the warriors who had to feed and protect them.

women made by

Ituma council were approved and added to by the leaders at Mwathe. The primary aim was to establish more realistic rules and norms of conduct between the sexes and thereby reduce the possibilities the

THE MWATHE MEETING of friction

and

227

To

ensure the permanence of forest liaisons, ‘marriages’ were to be publicly announced and registered, conflict.

and

leaders were not to interfere in the women’s selection of spouses. Again, acknowledging a shift in the role of many

women,

the latter were to be issued ranks up to that of colonel on the basis of their abilities as warriors which they were hence-

—

forth to be considered, along with the

As we

men. problems and conflicts in the forest were never

shall see in later chapters, the

generated by the presence of women completely resolved despite the many and varied rule changes. Karari’s account of his conversations with one of the camp

women this

at

Mwathe warmly

problem, as well as his

some

reveals

own

conflicts

of the dimensions of

and

personal,

if

not

typical, solution.

On

the third day of August, Kimathi’s messengers from Murang’a arrived and handed a letter to Mathenge which he asked me to

read to him.

It said

:

Dear Mathenge, have called a general meeting to be held at Nguthiru (Moorlands) on the banks of Mwathe stream. I am coming there with I

all

the leaders from Fort Hall, with

expect to meet you there with

many

of their warriors.

I

and warriors. I have written a letter to every leader I know and have sent them to North Kinangop of the Rift Valley and Nderagwa for the

Laikipia District.

Nyandarua

Forest.

all

In short,

the Nyeri leaders

I

expect

The meeting would

the

leaders

in

on 16/8/53 to *h e food to last you more

start

You

should therefore carry sufficient than a week. 20th.

all

As this would be the first general meeting in Nyandarua Forest, I think we should (1) Elect a Kenya-wide Council, (2) Make rules and regulations, (3) Instruct our leaders and warriors, (4) Make plans on raids, :

(5)

Issue out ranks,

(6)

Discuss any other arising matter.

for all the warriors

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

228

Convey my sincere hard and pray.

greetings to the leaders

and

warriors.

Work

Thaai (Peace)

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri

He

listened carefully as

I

read the letter to him privately. As

was his habit, he had some ground native tobacco in his mouth which made him to spit often. After a long pause of thinking he said, ‘Who is the chief, Kimathi or me?’ ‘I do not know well, for I have only recently learned that you were elected as the chief of Nyeri warriors and Kimathi as the secretary; but the Government advertises Kimathi as the leader of the warriors in Kenya.’

all

may

‘That

be the reason

why

he tried to

kill

me by

putting a

would become chief leader. Leadership take my share and he will take his.’

bullet in the fire so that he is

a

gift of

God.

‘Yes, that

am

‘I

the

(Mathenge,

is

I will

true,’ I replied.

man like

to call

Kimathi

to a meeting;

he

is

only

most others, did not know the difference

my

clerk

in duties

between a clerk and a general secretary). With whom did he arrange that meeting? All the Ituma counselors are here in this district.’ I

explained to him the difference between a clerk and a general

and warned him that it might be possible that Murang’a, North Kinangop and the Nderagwa might have their councils just like our Ituma in Nyeri but these counselors have never met and secretary

when

they meet, they will elect one leader. ‘The leader would be either Kimathi or you. You should then attend the meeting for

many

people would not support you during your absence.’

make up my mind when

will

‘I

here,’

By

he

I

see the other leaders

around

said.

time leaders and warriors from other divisions had left Kariaini, leaving behind only Othaya Division warriors. I accomthis

panied Mathenge to

Mahiga Location camps and two of Othaya. In each camp he had a private talk with its leader. When-

ever the

visit all

asked any leader after their talks whether he was to attend Nguthiru meeting, the reply was doubtful and leaning to I

Mathenge’s decision. One of the leaders, Kabuga Njogu, told me that he had been asked by Mathenge not to attend Kimathi’s meeting; but in spite of that he would go because the motive

THE MWATHE MEETING

229

was jealousy on chieftainship. Watoria (Thiongo Gateru), assistant of Gicuki Wacira in the women’s camp, told me that he would attend the meeting, after which he would move to Nderagwa where he would continue fighting with the settlers and their

behind

it

property. wallet of I

We

started planning our journey.

which

120s.

was from boarding

I

fees at

had 170s. in my Muthaini School.

sent 20s. in the reserve ordering six yards of calico for 15s. for

making

my

pounds of wheat flour for 3s. and a dozen boxes of matches for 2s. My order was successful and I wanted to know Mathenge’s decision. He told me that he was not attending the meeting. I asked him to write Kimathi and explain his reasons tent, five

for not attending.

He

me

He

refused to write a letter but sent

me

[instead].

Kimathi that he was very busy searching warriors who were badly scattered by the Devons and the Kenya Regiment last month in their strong operation. On the evening of 14th August I bid Mathenge and my companions goodbye and went to spend the night at the women’s camp with other warriors who were willing to attend the meeting. During the night, our safari food was prepared roasted meat for all and some pancakes for Watoria and me. Gicuki Hinga was appointed as my luggage carrier. Very early the following morning, we all prayed together, asking God to bless our journey, keep and guide us all the way. We set off, a group of twenty-eight warriors. The weather was bad great mists, wet cold leaves in narrow animal paths. Sometimes we had to make our new path asked

to

tell

—

;

in thick bushes,

our feet sinking

in the

damp

cold

soil

saturated

two months. We arrived Kigumo and were joined by Gen. Makanyanga’s (Kariuki Mathinji’s) gang of a hundred and twenty-eight warriors, including a dozen women. We found that the Gura River had swollen up and the best crossing place we found was two and a half feet deep. The able warriors used a staff to help them and held the hand of a weaker person. We all managed to cross that cold, strong and swiftest river in the Nyandarua Forest. We changed our direction to northwest and started climbing a mile steep hill of which its first part was in the black forest and the with water for at

other in the

least

bamboo

zone.

deserted ruined camp.

I

On

our arrival at the top we found a

learned that

camps captured by the enemy. clothes and damaged utensils. old

it

was one of Kahiu-Itina’s

I

could see torn pieces of

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

230

We moved

on flat land covered by thick bamboos across which a big road from Nyeri to the Moorlands via Kiandongoro Forest Station was under construction. Armored cars and tanks with many machine guns managed by military and assisted by Home Guards supervised the civilians who were forced to make the road which would enable the Government to transport its forces quickly some thirty miles inside the forest and which they would use to encircle or cordon us in certain areas. We sat down and sent scouts to check whether there were enemies along the road. During

this

time

I

learned from

Makanya-

nga that he had twice sent scouts to [spy on] the road constructors and the reports were that though difficult to defeat them, our warriors could manage to disturb them; but we were afraid that they [i.e., Government forces] may kill the civilians and allege that they were killed by Mau Mau or that the civilians fled to join the

Mau Mau. When

our scouts returned, they reported that

road and must do

we

we could

met by the enemy’s Land Rovers which moved to-and-fro checking our movements. On arrival, we found that we had to climb over a five feet high fence of the fallen bamboos and walk on them like monkeys cross the

it

quickly

lest

are

for forty feet, then cross the road, thirty feet

wide of well-cleared soil by tractors, on which our footprints could be seen. We had to move on toes and circle the leg [i.e., twist our feet] so as to hide any human mark and start climbing on those fallen bamboos on the other side of the road. For a few hundred yards we continued to hide our tracks and after scattering to further mislead any pursuers, found ourselves moving in scattered bamboos and bushes with patches of grass which fed large herds of buffaloes and we could see the morning tracks of rhinos and elephants here and there. It was not long before we were challenged by a furious

who

passed across our path dispersing the men. It was already half past one and we sat down for lunch cold roasted meat. We continued our journey, stopping twice on the way in order to get honey from forest trees. The honey was diluted

rhino

.

.

.

with water and each drunk a cup of the cold sweet drink to quench our thirst after a long journey and a fatty lunch.

By

four o clock

the River Chania.

warriors;

I

we At

started descending gradually the slopes of sunset, I found myself lagging with four

could see the

last

man

under the dark bamboo cover.

I

about a hundred yards in front was almost exhausted and could

THE MWATHE M EETING not increase any speed. Without seeing anyone, tracks.

The

darkness increased so that

23I

we

we could no

followed their

longer see their

We

had hope that they had not encamped far away. I could smell smoke from the camp and guessed the direction for a few hundred yards. Our movement became very difficult and we tracks.

continued stumbling

down

over the rough terrain.

I

signalled with

the call of the nightbird to check whether they could hear us. Luckily, the guards replied

and wanted

my

signal.

The guards met

I

shouted that

we were

and showed us the way. We could see camp fires some 300 yards away but to get there was very difficult; cold had increased so that we were shivering and often falling on that slippery steep slope. At 7 130 we arrived in the camp cold and tired. I was glad to meet Wacira Gathuku and (Shumali) Gathura Muita, the incharge of the general hospital. This is where the patients were moved when H.Q. was captured. I met Mathenge Kihuni for the second time. He told me that he had brought food for the patients and that he was also going to the meeting with some 87 other warriors. We talked of what had happened but as soon as I became warm I began to feel sleepy; I could not even wait for dinner. Wacira showed me where to sleep and soon I slept. The following day we continued our journey in a caravan of 244 persons. As we approached the Moorlands, we found a dead elephant. The hyenas had eaten all the meat leaving the hard bones and the three-feet-long ivory. We carried the tusks and lost

help.

us

?

moved

direct north along the bushes bordering the Nguthiru grass-

land so that

we would have somewhere

an airplane flew over us. We crossed the rivers Chania and Gikururu; the water is very cold up here within the altitude of 11,000 feet. Mist became our ally, protecting us from being seen by an airplane. We changed direction due west and w ere moving on burnt grassland. I learned from one of our warriors that an airplane had accidentally crashed while bombing the forest, setting the fire which burnt grass over about ten square miles. At two in the afternoon it started pouring hailstones. These frozen stones struck hard on us causing us to freeze. The ground had not sufficient heat to melt them and they caused our feet to freeze. We couldn’t go further and so made our camp on the bank of a small stream running across small bushes. We pegged tents, some using blankets to make tents. There was no difference r

to hide

if

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

232

between smoke and mist, therefore we made big fires at 4 p.m. It was so cold that I was unable to straighten my fingers. Some hot strong coffee was prepared for the leaders while soup was for

all.

After eating, drinking and warming,

we had

it

was

still

made

so cold that

smear our bodies with animal fat. Some leaves and grass were cut and dried with fire in order to make mattresses on all to

the frozen ground.

I

hardly slept that night.

The following morning, I was very much surprised to see that the dew on the grass, on our tents and blankets and some water that

was

left in

a karai (metal basin) had

all frozen.

We

continued

our journey on the frozen grassland which melted by 10 a.m., when we had a little sunshine, but we never felt its warmth. We arrived at Mwathe stream about one in the afternoon, where we

down

and eight other warriors started fishing with safey-pin hooks, string and bamboo fishing rods. I caught sixteen fish within less than an hour; the small stream had very many fish. I learned that Government had sent thousands of young brown trouts upstream which fed on the smaller type of fish that were originally found in the stream. One elder amongst us named Wandare was one of the men who had taken fish upstream in 925 according to his memory. We continued to climb a small bushy hill on a wide old animal path which led to Mwathe Camp. At two miles distance, we could see cleared areas which looked like big gardens. When I enquired of what that was, I was told that that was the area in which grass had been cut for thatching the camp’s huts. On my sat

for lunch.

I

1

arrival at the guards’

to be five acres.

I

camp

4 130 p.m. I guessed the cleared area could see more than thirty guards’ huts built of at

and shapes; round, gabled roofed, and the familiar type of shelters. Either branches with many leaves or grass had been used to cover the walls; an attempt to check the extreme different sizes

cold.

Some two hundred yards west

lay the Officers’

Camp.

All in-

comers and their supplies were stopped here and after some checking and recording, the supplies were handed over to the storekeeper who took them to an underground store some three hundred yards north of the camp. The meat was hung on trees where the altitude of almost 12,000 feet served as a refrigerator.

Our elephant tusks we had touched an

were taken to the store and we were told that unclean dead animal. [Traditionally, the eating or touching of

THE MWATHE MEETING single-hooved animals was tabooed

among

the Kikuyu.]

233

We

were

we were cleansed. Kimathi and Wang’ombe Ruga, his witch-

then ordered not to mix with the others until

Some

leaders, including

came to see the elephant tusks and say hello to us. Kimathi told us that we had a lucky journey and that the ivory were great wealth; and added that we had to be cleansed, introducing his Generals Macharia Kimemia, chief leader of witchdoctor, Murang’a, Mbaria Kaniu, Kimbo and others. We made a long queue of two hundred and forty four persons facing Wang’ombe Ruga the witchdoctor and passing by him he doctor,

would smear a little sheep fat, which is believed to be anti-calamity, on both hands, face and feet, then dipped his fly-whisk made from the tail of a cow into half a gourd which contained a mixture of the rumen content of a hyrax (used as substitute for a sheep) which had been dried, water and some wild herbs, one of which was mwembaiguru a creeping plant which produces milky sap, very sweet-smelling roots used to sweeten soup, and is regarded as a lucky plant. He then sprayed us saying, ‘I cleanse you of all the calamity and evils you might have contacted.’ After the cleansing ceremony, all the warriors were told to go to a camp that was vertically opposite us; some two hundred yards of grass southwards separated us from that camp. To get there one had to cross one of the Mwathe’s cold-running tributaries. The camp, under big trees with grass undergrowth^ looked like a big nomads’ village. To the west lay the main camp with hundreds of huts of different types, shapes and sizes. The leaders were welcomed to the officers’ camp and were led to the officers’ mess room 25 feet by 12 feet, with gabled roof and all the five-foot walls covered. As one enters, he would see two long [rough wooden tables, covered with soft cedar bark,] separated by a four foot wide corridor which ends at a table at which Kimathi, Macaria, Kahiu-Itina and Kimbo sat. There I had coffee with some other fifty five leaders. Each table was occupied by twenty-six leaders, of whom the two who sat at the ends acted as prefects who ordered food and organized the

—

—

kitchen.

While still taking coffee, Kimathi went on introducing the leaders who had arrived. Though he had heard of me we had never met before. All he could say of me was, ‘He has been headmaster Muthuaini School and has earned reputation for helping many of our warriors and we are glad to have such an educated person.’

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

234

‘Mr. Njama, yesterday

we

raided your school and captured

exercise books for our records

and a radio from your former

many

house,’

said Kahiu-Itina.

hope you will tell me all that in detail.’ ‘How was your journey and how is Mathenge?’ asked Kimathi. ‘We had a three-day-long and tiresome journey, mountain climbing and bad weather being our chief obstacles. We didn’t see any enemy traces on the way but we were lucky to collect elephant tusks which has made me to undergo a cleansing ceremony which reminded me of the last cleansing ceremony I underwent some twenty years ago when I was about seven years old.’ ‘I

The

others

fell

into a laughter at this,

and

I

heard some saying,

‘We have made you anti-Christian.’ Mathenge is all right,’ I went on. ‘I have been his secretary for the last two and a half months. He asked me to greet all the leaders and asked me to tell you, Kimathi father/of Waciuri, that he

will

not attend the meeting.

collecting itungati

who were

He

dispersed

me

told

that he

by the Devons

was busy

last

month.’

‘And what about the other leaders, Njau, Ngara, Gicuki and the rest from Kariaini who have not attended?’ asked Kimathi. They are in the same boat with Mathenge and will not come.’ ‘I believe that he has only refused to come,’ said Kimathi, ‘for the excuse he has given is a very weak one. There are many leaders who can carry on orders for searching the lost itungati. We had been expecting Mathenge today, but now our meeting will continue

that whatever

without him.

One

good we do here

thing

will

I

am

certain of

be supported by

all

and that

is

the people,

even the unborn.’

A

whistle

was blown. Prayers

one outside, calling

all

!

Prayers

!

Prayers

!’

shouted some-

people to attend the evening prayers.

We

went out. After prayers, Kimathi invited me to his room, which had been very well protected from cold and a fire was burning to keep it warm. As I sat down, two warriors brought two all

animal skin kitbags

honey they had been collecting all the day. Kimathi ordered one of them to fill a big mug with honey and give it to me. He told me that he would brew beer with the honey for ceremonial prayers. While I was eating the honey, Kimathi asked me what I had left Mathenge doing. I told him that for more than a month Mathenge and I had been hiding under a big camphor tree and that he was not at all full of

concerned

THE MWATHE MEETING

235

with the searching of itungati; he simply didn’t want to attend the meeting because he felt that he should have called the meeting or you should have arranged the whole matter with advertising the meeting. ‘The other leaders

him before wanted to come but

were stopped by him. Kabuga Njogu who disobeyed his boycotting of the meeting may tell you what he was told.’ ‘He has already told me the whole story,’ said Kimathi, ‘but Mathenge has lost a great chance of being known to many of our itungati from Murang’a, North Kinangop, Nderagwa and even the Ituma Ndemi Army of which we elected him to be the chief leader. I hope he is not suffering from megalomania. I would certainly attend any meeting he would call me to. I would like to meet him and resolve our differences and the suspicions which might have arisen from a fire-bullet incident at Murang’a. Nevertheless, I would postpone nothing due to his absence though I would .

always

call

him

present leaders

all

mess

‘Officers’

my

to

.

.

meetings and place his chair

in front of the

the time during his absence.’

!

Officers’

mess

!

Officers’

mess

’ !

shouted a voice

what that meant. Kimathi told me that it was a dinner and that all the officers should sit together in their

outside. I asked call for

messroom. six

He

man and

saluted.

called for Captain Ngiriri, a brown,

a great joker. Imitating a

Kimathi then

have dinner

here.’

told him, ‘Mr.

He went

returned escorting two

girls

KAR,

handsome,

he stood

Njama and

I

who

alert

would

out shouting to the kitchen

five-

and

like to

girls.

He

brought us pancakes in a plate

and a thick gravy of meat and potatoes. As we were eating, Kimathi told me that those potatoes were brought from North Kinangop and that a few warriors who were left behind roasting some were followed by some Kenya Regiment who opened fire on them at close range. ‘Five of our warriors are still missing and two of the gang are suffering from hysteria. They are voiceless and still shivering,

though unhurt.’

‘Yesterday night,’ continued Kimathi, ‘we launched one of our surprise attacks on Muitwo na Higi, alias Kagunduini Center.

General Kahiu-Itina’s section had collected one of the 50 lb. bombs dropped by the airplanes. We decided to explode it in one of the Home Guards’ plots. I sent some 600 itungati under General Kahiu-Itina and ordered them to carry all the goods in the twelve Home Guards’ shops. With them, I sent 150 warriors to bring food from our depots in the reserve and three groups of fifty strong each

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

236

them were very successful. After looting all the shops, Kahiu-Itina and a few others were Oh Let me call Kahiu-Itina so that he would give you the first hand to plunder their cattle. All of

account. Captain Ngiriri!’ ‘

Abandi

KAR’s

for

title

and

attention

‘

a term derived from Effendi,’ the originated from Turkey. He actively stood at

[replied the captain,]

,’

‘Sir,’

saluted.

Gen. Kahiu-Itina to come here.’ ‘Ndio Abandi' (‘Yes Sir’). The speedy

‘Tell

man

rushed out and

returned within two minutes with Gen. Katiu-Itina.

Abandi

meaning

,’

‘finished, fulfilled,

done, or complete

The man

‘Afzuri [‘Good’] Captain.’

‘

Timamu

Sir.’

and left. In a laughing tone, Kimathi said, ‘I want you to tell Mr. Njama how you conducted the Muituvo na Higi attack. Commence just at your saluted again

arrival in the reserve.’

‘On our

arrival at the forest border,’ started

Gen. Kahiu-Itina,

‘the 150 food carriers dispersed in the various food

From

the three cattle groups

another group which notorious

and

Home

I

Guard.

One

I

supply centers.

took ten itungati from each forming

sent to raid Wairagu’s aviary. I

ordered them to bring

all his

He

is

a

poultry

had to raid near the plot while others went to Chania, Out of the 600 itungati I had, I sent sent twenty of them to your school and told them not to hurt any of the teachers or make any damage to the school, but [to bring] this radio from your former house and all the exercise books from their eggs.

of the cattle groups

the headmaster’s store so that

them

sections. I told

they should

fire

we can have

that since they

a few shots in

all

record books for our

had no one

to fight against,

directions so as to frighten the

Home Guards—also

giving the teachers an excuse that their survival was due to their escape in the darkness before our warriors

entered

their

houses

and quickly return

to

the place of our

departure and wait for us there. Arriving at the plot [i.e., market center], I sent three groups of 20 guards each to guard the three roads that might bring helpers on vehicles. Since only Nyeri could send strong helpers, I added 20 more warriors to that road. I entered the plot with

500

and soon learned that no one was returning our fires, but we could hear them running away. We broke shop doors and windows and entered. We found that the owners had itungati , opened

fire

escaped through the rear doors.

Our

warriors

became busy

in

THE MWATHE MEETING

237

packing the luggage. Since there were very insufficient empty sacks, we used blankets and other cloths for tying our bundles of clothes, cloths, medicine, sugar, salt, beans, flour, exercise books, etc., etc.

In the Tusker beer shop,

we broke

and poured the beer. Our warriors, heavily loaded, started moving to the forest. I sent someone to call the Nyeri-road guards and ordered them to follow our warriors and urged them to hurry up before we set the bomb on fire. ‘I was left behind with a dozen others. We put the bomb in the middle of the center shop. I sent some warriors to my former workshop and asked them to bring the carpenter’s plane rubbish [i.e., shavings] and the others collected waste paper and the small paper containers. We covered the bomb with the stuff and poured four tins of kerosine oil on the rubbish, set it on fire and ran as quickly as possible. After five minutes or so we were more than a mile from the plot. We saw a big flash of lightning followed by a thunderous horrible noise accompanied by earth tremor. The falling and crashing of the stone of big shops continued for several seconds. We saw the Nyeri lights go off and the whole area became dead silence under the influence of the dreadful alarm. I think all the shops were destroyed.’ ‘I would be very grateful if you destroyed more than that,’ interrupted Dedan Kimathi. ‘You see, Mr. Njama, the Government has closed trading centers which were under our people and those Home Guards had some privileges because of torturing our people and forcing them to confess. Surely the Government has been very all

the bottles

unfair. It has closed our schools, as part of punishment, stopped all

our vehicles from moving while Home Guard vehicles are still Gen. Kahiu-Itina, make arrangements tomorrow for moving. .

.

.

some itungati

to

ambush Shadrack's omnibus.

Tell

them not

to

return in the forest until they destroy that bus and the owners.’ ‘I

am

glad that you have closed one

Home Guard

trading center

and have taught men, women and children the experiences we are getting about these bombs. That bomb’s destruction, which is now open for all to see, would be a fair proof that when the Government is dropping thousands of bombs in this forest and Mt. Kenya it aims at destroying us the same way. How many warriors have been destroyed by these bombs up to date?’ I asked. ‘In early March,’ continued

Dedan Kimathi,

‘nine squatters

from

the North Kiningop fled with their large herds of livestock through

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

238 this

forest

heading for Murang’a. They knew that

if

they were

would lose their livestock. They were spotted by a Police Air Wing plane on Nguthiru grassland soon after crossing the

repatriated they

river Gura.

They

tried to hide in a very small cluster of

bamboo

but unfortunately they were beaten with grenades and machine guns to their death. Some of their survived livestock were collected by our warriors, the rest were eaten by hyenas, leopards and their families.

‘The other incident was in Murang’a towards the end of the same month. Our warriors had made fire during the day and its smoke was sighted by the small patrol planes. There were more than 300 warriors in that camp but our greatest luck was that the enemies had not started using bombs by that time. They dropped several grenades in the

camp amidst

the people. Nine were killed

and eighteen were injured. We then learned to hide smoke during the day and fires during the night. Ever since, the airplanes have never contacted our people, though they have been dropping bombs aimlessly. Sometimes, when their foot forces enter our mbuci, they later on direct their air forces who heavily bomb the vacated camps. Whether they think that we might have returned in those camps or they merely want us to see their strength is a thing

I

can’t

tell.’

‘Since our enemies are using strong bombs,’

I

commented, ‘our

warriors should

be strongly warned to take much care about smoke during the day and fires during the nights. Why did you choose this place for the camp while we are surrounded by large

and the warriors have cleared more than five acres of grass which I sighted when I was two miles away and which can be seen by patrolling planes from a great distance?’ tracts of grasslands

‘My

reasons,’ said

Nyandarua and tances.

up

*1

Kimathi,

‘are, first, this

place

is

the center of

our warriors would have to travel ecjual dishe second reason is that since we have never made camps all

Government would not suspect us to be in this cold region. The third is that it is so misty that no airplane can see us. Moreover, we have only three more days and we shall disperse.’ ‘How many people are in the camp?’ I asked. ‘A little over four thousand and six hundred,’ replied Gen. here, the

Kahiu-Itina.

By

the way, Gen. Kahiu-Itina, did you say that you raided my school because you wanted this radio and some exercise books?’

!

THE

.

MW AT HE MEETING

239

what I said.’ ‘I remember that there were two radio sets in that center; Jeremiah Ngunjiri had a bookshop and kept much stationery and ‘Yes, that's

there were satisfy

all

types of exercise books in every shop. Couldn’t those

our wants without disturbing the children’s education?’

I

eagerly asked.

‘We

Mr. Njama, but you see our aim is to cause losses to the Government in all possible ways,’ continued Gen. KahiuItina. ‘Now the Government would buy another radio for the school and supply new books.’ ‘It worries me very much, father/of Waciuri ‘He is called Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi,’ interrupted Gen. could,

’

Kahiu-Itina, ‘and the other leaders will receive their

official

ranks

tomorrow.’

‘Thank you very much, General. Marshal, to hear that so

many

It

worries

me

very much, Field

and so many schools destroyed by the people who are seeking freedom the same people who are [now] singing of praise and cries for education. Listen to them singing!’ (Outside, our warriors just finished singing the first song below and were starting the second.) teachers have been killed

.

(1)

Neither your unsatisfied wants

Nor your

difficulties will kill

Without eyes It

you.

to see the tears of the children

matters not whether one

is

foolish or clever.

Mumbi’s children are not educated Then neither the European Nor the Asian will lose sleep Worrying about how to satisfy their needs. If

This

is

a time for sharing.

Kikuyus

arise

Let us help the children with their difficulties For they are the ones who will take our places.

The need

for a spear

is

gone

Replaced by the need for a pen. For our enemies of today Fight with words.

.

W ITHIN

M A U M A U FROM

24O

Parents, give us pens so that vve might advance

And

assist

For

it is

our Kikuyu Heroes.

we, your children,

Who will have (2)

to aid

you

in the future.

were Ndemi and Mathathi Father, I would ask you for Kirugu

If

it

Now

r

father,

,

I

only ask you for education.

Today’s heroes, father, sing only of education Isn’t

Mathu

Will

I

for education, father?

ever be proud of

my education?

Today’s heroes, father, have In order to protect the land

all

gathered

Haven’t you that same thought? This good land of ours,

Was

Kenya

protected in the past by warriors

Who carried

spear and shield.

Did ever cowards win As our warriors continued usually did after dinner,

cattle?

to sing

many

other songs, as they

asked Field Marshal Kimathi whether he understood that our deeds in the schools were being interpreted I

meaning that we did not want education and that our aim was directed to barbarism, witchcraft and superstition; and that our actions being contrary to what we sing are enough to convince even our supporters, who are really urging for more and better as

chances of education.

was not aware of that,’ replied Kimathi, shaking his head. ‘Though I very much feel the need for education, I greatly oppose the Beecher Report and have objected to it being put into practice. For I know that practice forms a habit. I first believed that all people hated the report as I do and that we could fight it by our biggest weapon of boycotting it; but when I learned that the people at the schools led by the missionaries did not oppose it and that they were helping the Government to defeat us, I then thought these loyalists might even have consulted the Government to close ‘I

all

the schools that are not organized by the missionaries so that

.

THE MWATHE MEETING

24.I

they could have the control over the education and continue to ration

You know well that all these missionaries Even Mubia (a Catholic Italian Padre) has said

as medicine.

it

are Europeans.

no difference between him and the others of the white community. He has also claimed that he has warned the Europeans, “ Nindakwirire utige kunora mukuha na mbari cieri, ugagutheca .” (“Don’t sharpen the Kikuyu needle at times that there

several

both ends, for

it

is

will surely prick you.”)

Meaning

that the Euro-

peans should not give the Africans any education that might

endanger their ‘Of

all

[i.e.,

the white man’s] paradise.

the teachers

who have been

have been destroyed, very few

and schools which orders from me; in fact,

killed

due to] But I have ordered the destruction

[are

none for the killing of teachers. of some schools for the demonstration of our objection to Beecher’s Report, as you have learned from Gen. Kahiu-Itina raiding your school. The rest [of the raids have been carried out by supporters and komereras] from mere bitterness to that harmful plan which has led to the closure of about 300 of our schools. The interpretation doesn’t matter much, for one can interpret anything in any way he likes. If I were to speak to the people I would tell them the Government doesn’t want us to be educated and that is why it has closed our schools; it wants us to continue witchcraft and superstition

for after closing the schools

it

has given us no substitute

and many innocent people are punished. Don’t you think that the people would agree with me?’ asked F. M. Kimathi proudly. ‘They would surely agree with you,’ I replied. ‘Did you start the meeting yesterday as you had said?’ I asked.

other than collective punishment without

Our first do much as we

‘Oh, no! didn’t

cussions

and

since

it

sitting

trials,

commenced today

at

10 a.m.

We

spent most of the time in the formal dis-

was the

first

time to meet

we wanted

to

know

each other better so everyone had a time to speak, especially the ones

whom

I

could say very

little

about

in

the introduction

.

.

form and elect officers of the Kenya Defense Council, of which I was elected President, Gen Macaria Kimemia (Murang’a) Vice President, Gen. Kahiu-Itina Treasurer and Brig. Gathitu Secretary. We elected seven office bearers altogether, including myself, and all they had to introduce themselves. All

the

leaders

are

members

of

the

we have done

Kenya Defense

is

to

Council.

Council would be responsible for plans and organization.’

I

his

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

242

‘Thank you very much, Field Marshal, for the information you have given me. I’m feeling tired and sleepy and I would be glad to be shown where to sleep.’ Captain Ngiriri was called and on his arrival was asked whether he had made arrangements for my room. He replied that he had prepared everything. I thanked Kimathi for his kind invitation and followed Capt. Ngiriri. He led me into a seven by five foot gabled room with four-foot walls well protected from the cold. A bright fire was burning; with its light I could see my bed in which a lot of grass had been used to make a mattress, a heap of firewood and the room attendant, a girl not less than five feet eight inches, fair brown, healthy and dressed in calico sheets. We shook hands and the jocular captain commenced his introduction.

‘Mr Njama, this is your kabatuni] he ‘What is kabatuniV I asked.

said, pointing at the girl.

mean that this is your “small platoon” that you will have to command. She must be with you in this room all the time. She will take care of you; make your bed take care of your beddings, warm your bathing water, clean and mend your clothes, fetch ‘I

5

firewood for keeping you warm, and

any way that

pleases you.

Do you

‘Yes (Eeei\),' replied the ‘This

Mr

is

troubles call

The on

it.

her duty to entertain you in

understand that you kabatuniV

girl.

Njama, and

on me. Sleep

it is

this

well.

is

Miss Wangui.

Good

If

you have any

night.’

placed a piece of log near the fire and asked me to sit sat down, deeply thinking about this surprising procedure.

girl I

Wangui went and She put

it

quickly returned with some water in a karai. on the fire in order to warm the freezing water. We kept

quiet for some minutes as

could

live

women

with

women

continued to weigh how our warriors in such a situation. ‘To feed and defend I

an unnecessary burden to our warriors. Sleeping with them would bring calamity to our camps, weaken our [I

thought]

is

itungati and, probably, they

would become pregnant and would be unable to run away from the enemies, and they would be killed. No child can survive in this condition. For generations, women had been a source of conflicts between men. Wouldn’t some of these girls,

and

the ones brought into the forest against their wills, surrender give the Government much information about us? I wished I

could get them

all

out of the forest and

in the reserves like the others.’

let

them face

their fates

THE MWATHE MEETING ‘Mr Njama, the water

is

warm. Wash your

243

feet,’ said

Wangui

in a pleasing tone.

1 hank you, the forest’

I

I

said, taking off

‘Why

‘When did you

enter

month and

three weeks ago.’

did you want to come?’

did not want to come.

I

boots.

asked.

entered the forest one

‘I

my

with four other

girls.

I

had taken food

Then we contacted

to the supply center

a group of eight warriors,

d hey asked us to help them to carry the food to the forest border and, arriving, they refused to let us return. We slept two nights with them before arriving at Gen. Nyaga’s camp, where we found some 28 other girls. The itungati reported to their leader that we

wanted

come

and that we were badly hunted by the Home Guards. We did not [try to] prove that they were lying as their leader welcomed us and we feared saying his warriors had lied. I have since been living with one of the warriors until we

came Each

to

to the forest

to the meeting.

We

were then selected

to serve the leaders.

leader has a girl attendant and there are 20 girls in the kitchen awaiting for distribution to the leaders who will come.’

Do you know how many women

are in this camp?’

hey are well over 450.’ ‘Do you like your job?’ Yes I think so. It is not much different than the work I did at home, and the only work I know how to do. Wherever I might go under the sun, I think these same duties would follow me.’ ‘T

?

‘How do you

feel

about being forced

to sleep

with a

man you

have not chosen?’ here are different ways of forcing a mean?’ asked Wangui anxiously. ‘

1

‘I

mean what you have been

‘Each

girl

girl,

instructed

and woman has her own

which one do you

by the

captain.’

different view.

Some

girls

annoyed for being parted with their lovers and forced to seek some new ones. I am not in their group for I have no lover here in the forest. Generally, I would think of sleeping with a man as an are

individual concern. Here, this as

it

seems to

me

that the leaders consider

part of the women’s duty in the Society.

I

believe that since

could not do any other better service to my people, I would then willingly accept it as my contribution to the Society [i.e., I

Movement].’

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

244

you are given permission to go back to the reserve, would you be happy?’ ‘Oh no The Home Guards are merciless and I wouldn’t want to meet them. I would rather remain here with you warriors up to ‘If

!

the end.’

‘Thank you very much, Wangui. I am glad that you have openly and sincerely spoken to me. Where do you usually sleep?’ ‘In the kitchen, with some other girls,’ replied Wangui politely. ‘I have to thank you again Wangui. Go sleep well and remember to I

on

come

early in the morning.

entered in all

my

night Wangui.’

blankets and in the darkness stared, reflecting

that night’s discussions.

woman

Good

An

ill

feeling about

approaching a grew strong on

any time while still engaged in the fight the top of my head and I therefore vowed to myself not to play with women till the end of the fight. The following day broke with a change in the weather; we could see the snow cap of Mt. Kenya while saying our morning prayer and eagerly staring at the sacred Home of God asking Him to guard and guide us. Though I did not believe that God lived there,

at

I

believed

it

to be

a holy place.

Firstly,

this

traditional

which had begun with the creation of our tribe, must have originated from something to do with God and not from nothing. Secondly, God’s guards, the ice and snow, capture any being, insect, bird or reptile, that steps in the whole place and remains forever a dead captive, yet [one which] will never rot so as to become a warning sign to the others not to go there. Thirdly, it had been reported by the mountain climbers that it was absolutely difficult to climb to the top of Mt. Kenya. Fourthly, it had been rumored for many years that no airplane could fly across the top of Mt. Kenya as it was all the time driven by a strong wind causing it to pass just at the side. Fifthly, Mt. Kenya is on the equator, where it should be warm enough to melt the whole ice, but it never melted. Sixth, the history of the Jewish religion, which corresponds to the Kikuyu, is full of prayers and sacrifices on the mountains; and the great religious teachers, Sidharta Gautama and Jesus Christ, went on the mountains to pray. Since my tribe

belief,

had chosen the top of

mountain to be God’s home and did not believe that God lived on any other mountain, it had to be respected as the churches, temples or mosques of other peoples’ religions.

this

——— THE MWATHE MEETING

245

At 9 a.m. on the 18th of August 1953, fifty-six leaders from all parts surrounding Nyandarua, with the exception of Kiambu, stood up for the opening prayers under the Chairmanship of Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi inside a meeting room 25 by 12 feet. On the stage were a bamboo-stick table placed in the middle and two other tables on either side. These tables were covered by bark of cedar trees which substituted for the table cloth. At the middle table sat Gen. Macaria Kimemia (Murang’a), Kimathi in the center and Gen. Kahiu-Itina. At the right side table sat Brig. Gathitu Waithaka, the Secretary Kenya Defense Council, Mwangi Giciinu (Murang’a’s Secretary) and myself as Kimathi’s secretary. (He had invited me to record minutes of the meeting for his own files.)

On

sentative

the other table sat Brig. Kirihinya for

the area from

—Gen. Kimbo’s repre-

Nyeri to Thomson’s

Falls,

Mbaria

Kaniu, representative for North Kinangop, with their clerks. The rest sat on forms [i.e., benches] like a gathering in church.

Our

first

job was to

name our

armies. [Below

is

a

listing of the

eight armies agreed upon, together with their respective numbers,

names, areas and

leaders.]

—

Army: ituma ndemi army Nyeri District warriors, under Gen. Stanley Mathenge (even though he was absent). (Ndemi = an old Kikuyu ruling generation, the founders

(1)

1st

(2)

Ndemi means arrowhead.) 2nd Army: gikuyu iregi army Murang’a of smith work.

District war-

under Gen. Macaria Kimemia. (It should be called ‘Gikuyu’ because our legend instructs us that the tribe originated in Murang’a. Iregi — one of the Gikuyu ruling generations which reformed laws and regulations. Iregi

riors,

literally

means

rejector

or

innovator in

reference

to

a

generation group.) (3)

3rd Army: kenya inoro

army

Kiambu

District warriors,

under Gen. Waruingi, whom none of us had met but only heard of. (Inoro = a stone used for sharpening knives, swords, spears, etc.; referring to Kenya Teachers College, Githunguri, in Kiambu, which was sharpening Kenya’s brains.) (4)

Army: mei mathathi army Mt. Kenya warriors, under Gen. China, (MEI was derived from Me ru, Einbu

4th

and /kamba. Mathathi = one of the ancient ruling genera-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

246

found red ochre and used

tions that

shields, etc. Literally, that hi (5)

means red

Army: mburu ngebo army

5th

it

—

to paint their hair,

ochre.)

the Rift Valley war-

all

under Gen. Kimbo. (Mburu, derived from MBUtu cia RUguru, meant ‘Army of the West,’ or ‘Rift Valley Army.’ Mburu itself literally means an age-group in Kiambu only; [it was also a term used when referring to] Dutch — level’ and was invented to mean to lie settlers. Ngebo

riors,

*

ground when fighting so that enemies’ bullets cannot catch one. So [i.e., the implication was that] the army was supposed to fight as strongly as the Dutch settlers in the Kenya Regiment and the Kenya Police Reserve.) all our fighters 6th Army: the town watch battalions in all the towns; most of them at this stage did their normal level to the

(6)

—

work during the day and attacked during the nights or at any time they had a chance. [This was simply a name given in respect to town and city fighters who had no overall

(7)

commander or unitary organization.] yth Army: gikuyu na mumbi trinity army

—any

person

or persons, wherever he or they lived, provided that they

sympathized, helped us in any

We

felt

Mumbi,

we were one

in

or fought on our side.

Gikuyu and

the union of

[following the Catholic notion the ‘Trinity,’ the

one God of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost]. 8th Army: Kenya levellation army all persons fighting union

(8)

that

way

in

—

in

the reserves,

was not

[in

Nyeri] under Gen. Kariba. This

much

in existence until

the year, [and even then

it

later

army

towards the end of

lacked an overall commander,

with outstanding individual leaders emerging within each of the various districts.] Levellation

Informers and to get rid of

Home Guards

them meant

was derived from

were regarded

as

‘level.’

stumps and

to level the country.

Having completed the naming

Kimathi went on to instruct the leaders how to keep a camp register. He emphasized that all the fighters must be registered and that each leader must be able to answer any question with regard to his itungati of our armies,

—

how many

alive,

dead, captured, injured,

etc.,

etc.

He

said that

big exercise books should be used as registers and columns be

drawn

vertically

and each

titled

as follows

:

(1)

Index Number;

THE MWATHE MEETING Warrior’s

(2)

in

Name

the Forest;

Division;

(7)

Rank;

(11)

Captured;

(including father’s name);

Warrior’s Clan;

(4)

Location;

(5)

Date of Entry

District of Residence;

Sub-location;

(8)

(3)

247

(9)

Village; (10) Duties;

Date Injured; (13) Date Surrendered; Date of Death; (16) Remarks.

(12)

(15)

(6)

(14)

Date

He

added, ‘Those warriors who are determined to persevere, bear cold, hunger, heavy rain while dressed in rags, unarmed by

and who are ready

the state,

to die so that all the

irrespective of their tribe or their help,

may

Kenya

people,

get freedom

and land rewarded and remembered]. Some are dead and more will die, but whether living or dead, the fact remains that all those who are fighting anywhere have offered their lives as the price of Land and Freedom. If you die, your heirs would take your share of land and enjoy the freedom you died for. Big memorial halls in memory of those who died for freedom shall be built in all the towns and these registers bearing all the names of our warriors, recorded as I have instructed, shall be put in these halls for future generations to see. I would suggest that the names of the leaders should be printed on the walls of those memorial to cultivate, [should be

Make

halls.

sure that these registers are properly kept

up

to date;

they should not be stored in the camps but should be stored far

away from camps in

in beehives, caves, inside trees

underground well-built

ants

stores,

well

with big holes or

preserved

from rain or

.’ .

.

‘Lunch Lunch Lunch came the cry from outside and we all went to the Officers’ Mess for lunch some fried meat. !

’

!

!

—

?

When

the meeting resumed at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we started a general discussion on the women’s role. few leaders stood up to speak, laying their emphasis [on the fact] that there

A

was no difference between a girl and any other warrior, though their works were different, d hey pointed out some girls who had killed KAR’s or policemen and had brought their guns to the forest. They added that the girls were very good spies of every camp where the Government forces had taken them, and also that they were excellent bait for trapping Government forces one or two at a time. I he evidence given placed the girls in the same category as any other warriors and proved that girls had a right to

come

When

to the forest.

stood up,

pointed out that some of the former speakers had used a few cases in order to achieve a sweeping statement. I I

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

248

pointed out that seven out of ten of

had been

either lured or abducted

pleasure.

Some

leaders

invented stories that

all

all

the

women

by our warriors

in the forest

for their

mere

that well, while others believed the

knew

the girls were badly

wanted by the

Home

Guards and that they came to the forest for their security. I compared gains from the women’s work in the camps with the conflicts and difficulties arising in feeding and defending them and the possible conflicts between our warriors. I mentioned that it was alleged that Kiriugi Muciri had been killed because of a girl. ‘No That is a false accusation,’ shouted Kimathi. ‘Do you know who killed Kiriungi?’ Kimathi asked me. !

do not know,’ I replied. ‘Do you know why he was killed?’ Kimathi asked me. ‘No, I do not know, but from what I have heard, the people in Kigumo and Kariaini areas believe that his death was caused by jealousy of the girl he had !’ ‘I heard his case,’ said Kimathi, ‘and appointed a committee to find [i.e., investigate] the case before the decision was reached. I know that such allegations would mean to scandalize my name, for I am very much concerned with that case. I know that you had not entered the forest by that time and your statements depend ‘No,

I

on hearsay about the case.’ ‘Back to what I wanted to that case

is

mind whether would prophesy that a few would

say,’ I

true or not, but

I

continued, ‘never

meet their death right here in the forest due to conflicts brought by the girls. Believe me or not, all types of brains are amongst our warriors, even the rhino brains.’ I

then went on to mention the rules

and how we amended these ported these

Mumwe

rules

addition of the following

rules at

we had made

Mumwe. Many

at Kariaini

leaders sup-

and they were confirmed with the

:

Every camp leader shall interrogate every girl joining his camp in the future and if he finds that the girl was either lured or abducted to the forest, the warrior concerned shall be beaten 25 strokes and the girl be returned to the reserve. (6)

(7)

Girls

shall

get ranks [up to that of Colonel] as other

warriors according to their activities in their camps, and their

would also be considered. (8) Girls in the camps were to be given freedom to chose the men they wished to live with, and the leader should not indulge

former

activities

THE MWATHE MEETING in the

matter until the couple comes to him for registration as

husband and (9)

249

Once

wife.

death would be the only thing that could

registered,

cause divorce in this forest.

Having done away with the [question of the] women’s role, we turned on to issuing ranks. ‘We shall issue ranks,’ Kimathi began, ‘from the lowest to the highest in accordance to individual activities and try to encourage our itungati to seek the next rank. We must make these ranks to be a real life [i.e., of real significance] in the

camps.

You must

see that all the ranks are respected

and given

some

privileges so that they

jobs

apart from fighting such as clerks, doctors, cooks, store-

mundo mugo some elders who give keepers,

would be admirable.

We

have different

who make and hear small camp

(witchdoctors), blacksmiths

guns,

us some advice

cases,

same rank, that means that they are all equal, even the girls who happen to be of that rank. These ranks should show each warriors keenness and industriousness and must be respected after the war. Many of the best farms are owned by ex-army officers in both world wars. I think that these etc. If all these

are given the

farms are their

gifts as pensions,

were given.

I

would

like to see

farms as their pensions

apart from the high salaries they

my

officers

taking over

all

those

Though we do not have money to give our fighters, every rank we give out must be accompanied by some money, no matter how little, that would be to indicate that if we had money we would be glad to pay our warriors sufficient salaries and that we lay this debt to the first !

(Applause.)

African Government.’

Many

leaders stood

pressing ideas. In fact,

up

to

comment and support Kimathi’s im-

we were

and admired to see the ideas accomplished. When Kimathi stood up again, he asked leaders to prepare a list of twelve persons in each camp who would be issued with ranks from a Lance Corporal to a General. The fifty leaders gave a list of 600 names. After a long discussion on

how

to allocate

money

all

interested

was resolved that the lowest ranks would get 2s., 5s., 10s. up to 100s. by 10’s. This amounted to at least 28,000s. Kimathi requested each leader to contribute some 600s. from oathing fees, dues, raids, etc., which totalled to 30,000s. For the rest of the time, the clerks were very busy writing names, ranks and amounts on the envelopes to be presented to the owners, to the ranks,

while Kimathi’s table put the right

it

sum

in the right envelope.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

250

was 5 o’clock when we left the meeting room heading to where all the warriors had gathered in the open cleared-grass area. On our arrival all the warriors stood up and saluted. Over 200 selected and well-instructed guards of honor presented arms while It

and sang Kimathi’s song ‘When our Kimathi climbed the mountain alone After the song, the rest sat down, with the exception of the the rest stood at attention

:

’

guards.

The

leaders stood in front of the people in a straight line

and Kimathi in the center. I stood next to him on the left, then Macaria Kimemia, Kahiu-Itina and Mwangi Gicimu, who arranged the envelopes in their order and passed them to the right. I called out the names and ranks this started from the lowest to the highest written on the envelope and passed the envelope to Kimathi. Then the person called would come in front, salute and shake hands with Kimathi, receive his envelope, salute again, and go back to sit down with the others. There was great noise of cheering all the time when one received his envelope. When all was

—

—

Kimathi repeated his speech about ranks. He received many applauses when he made promises that our warriors should be rewarded for their service. It was almost twilight when he ended his speech and we felt badly cramped by cold when we stood up and turned toward Mt. Kenya to ask God’s blessing and protection, after which the men dispersed singing songs of praise for the leaders and quickly lit fires for warming and cooking. The singing and composing of new over,

songs continued until late after midnight.

was one of six leaders who were not issued with ranks that day on the grounds that we had only recently entered the forest and that [while] our past activities had placed us among the top leaders, the forest activities were the chief concern in the ranking. Moreover, the leaders in that meeting were new to me and none of them could recommend me as I did not belong to his camp; and as I had not worked with Kimathi before, I couldn’t get recommendation for a rank though I was given respect. During the night I visited many warriors’ huts to see how they were behaving. I talked to them and learned that they were not fed enough and that some had started hiding food as they approached the camp in order to increase their ration. Some complained that the leaders had three meals a day while the itungati I

—

who

risked their lives in order to get that food

had only one

in-

THE MWATHE MEETING meal. Later,

sufficient

I

went

to visit Kimathi.

25 1

We

talked

till

on many topics. I went back to my hut and found that Wangui had made a nice fire. Cap. Ngiriri came to see me and asked whether Wangui had disobeyed. I replied that she hadn’t and that she was doing her work very well. He queried why she had not slept in my hut the 3 a.m.

previous night.

added that

I

replied that

had given her permission

I

to

do

so.

my

former carrier, to take care of my lu gg a g e during the day. The Captain agreed and left. After washing my feet, I entered in my blankets and wished Wangui goodnight. She left and I fell asleep. I

The

I

liked Gicuki,

following morning at 8 130, the storekeepers reported that

some itungati had

from the camp store and all the remainder could be issued in the evening for one sufficient meal or served as half-ration for two days. That morning we expected Thiongo Gateru who had gone to raid settlers’ cattle in the Wanjohi area. He arrived at 9 o’clock and reported that he and his gang had managed to bring 78 head of cattle to the Moorlands about 10 miles from the camp, but the Devons who ran in their Land Rovers in order to block them sighted them with their big stolen food

lights.

‘We were lucky,’ he said, ‘that we had crossed their jeep track when they saw us. We drove the cattle in a small depression and maimed them by cutting their hind leg tendons. We then climbed up far and watched. 7 hey were directed by cattle lowing and when they spotted them, they opened they stopped to

check

firing,,

fire,

they had killed

we were there. When many cattle. They all stood up thinking

how many

people they had killed since they hadn’t seen anyone running away. They lit their big torches and when they learned that they had not killed anybody they gathered together

and

started discussing about the cattle

away. them.

We We

not know.

our

and laughing at our running all aimed at their group and together opened fire on saw them falling down, whether dead or alive we do

We

kept firing for a minute.

we made

When

they started to return

We

were so cold and hungry that two of our warriors were left behind, being unable to walk, and they lit a fire just at the border of the forest and the moorland.’ ‘Do you think that the enemies can follow your track up to here?’ asked Kimathi. fire

‘No,’

off.

replied 7 hiongo.

‘We have walked on

rocks for a mile’s

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

252

and each person moved in his own track taking much care of the grass behind and again we followed the top ridge muirigo in which our guards could see an enemy approaching as far as their eyes could see.’

distance

and then another mile

‘Captain Ngiriri

!’

in long grasses

called out Kimathi.

Abandi V He came running and stood at attention and saluted. ‘I want the Guard Commander here right now!’ said Kimathi. dio Abandi The Captain flashed out of sight. ‘Storekeeper! Get many of the leaders in the yonder camp to help you inspect the warriors’ kitbags and check whether you could find any gitungati who stole food from the store. Do you ‘

W

.’

understand that?’ ‘Yes ‘

Sir,’

[replied the storekeeper.]

Timamu Abandi

here

,

is

Guard Commander,’

the

said

the

captain.

‘Go and check not to

make any

them

to

keep

muirigo and

all

fires

the guards,’ said Kimathi, ‘and

today even

their

tell

eyes

them

if

warn them

they freeze from the cold. Tell

opened.

with the north ridge

Start

that enemies

may

follow Thiongo’s gang’s

go that direction in case they go to that you have fulfilled that as quickly

track. Tell the itungati not to collect honey.

Report to

me

as possible.

‘Gentlemen, get in the meeting room so that

we had

we can

start

our

down, Kimathi stood up and said, ‘Since we are running short of food and we are far away from all food supplies, we should try and finish our meeting today so that we can disperse tomorrow. I would like all

meeting,’ said Kimathi. Soon after

the leaders to instruct

property

is

all

all sat

our itungati that to destroy enemy’s

almost the same as destroying the

enemy

himself.

Make

do not destroy our supporters’ property, which would cause them to turn against us, but instead encourage them that they would be compensated [for their losses.] I think it is a sure that itungati

good idea to record all the losses that every member and supporter has suffered from the Kenya Government. These records should include all the Government’s damage and should be recorded in columns resembling our

registers:

(1)

Index Number,

(2)

Name

of Residence, (4) Division, (5) Location, (6) Sub-location, (7) Village, (8) Money lost in Cash, (9) No. of Cattle, (10) No. of Sheep and Goats, (11) Pigs, (12) Poultry,

(including father’s),

(13)

Donkeys,

(14)

(3) District

Value of House and Belongings Burned,

(15)

the m\v at he meeting Crops Damaged

Shambas

in

(acres), (16)

253

Crops Damaged

in Stores

Shop or Plot Losses, (18) Vehicles, (19) Contributions to our Warriors, (20) Timber Mills or any other losses. Do you agree with the recording of the lost properties?’ asked (bags), (17)

Kimathi. ‘Yes

We do,’

!

‘Have

I

replied the leaders.

forgotten something to be added to the

loss

columns?’

queried Kimathi. After a few minutes of pausing, Kimathi continued. ‘7 he next record we should prepare should tell us how

many

people died during the freedom struggle fighters. 7Tis would mean to record the names of

who were all

not

the persons

who

died from the date of the emergency declaration to the end of the revolution, no matter whether this was a young child or an

Many

old aged person.

of

them are dying

about by the Government or diseases

of starvation brought

in the unsanitary villages or

other conditions created

by the Government; but there difference between death by hunger or hanging.

is

no

‘7

he other register should be for the names of our enemies, i.e., Home Guards, informers, Tribal Police, whether dead or alive, and how many are dead in each area. This book, like the others, should be recorded thus (1) Index Number, (2) Name of Person and his :

father,

(3)

District of Residence,

Sub-location, that the

(4)

Division,

(5)

Location,

(6)

Date of Death. It is interesting to see (Home Guard’s) book has only eight columns,

(7) Village, (8)

Kamatimu

1

s

which indicates that they should die. Each camp leader should collect these data from the villagers by sending our itungati for the required information.

camp leader must keep a Cash Book that will show how much money he has collected and how much he has spent and the balance thereof. The other record you should keep is the Camp Store Record that will show how much supply your camp has spent either from plunder or charity from our associates. One more ‘Every

important record that you should keep is a History Book in which all the camps’ daily events are recorded. And lastly, there is the

Hymn

and Song Book, the Hospital Record and the Duties Roster. In summary, each camp must keep the following books: (1)

Register,

(2)

Individual Loss Accounts,

(3)

Kamatimu

Records,

showing the enemies of Freedom and hence national traitors, (4) Death Record Book for the civilians, (5) Cash Book, (6) the Supplies Record, (7) History Book, (8) Hospital Records, (9) Hymn and

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

254

Camp

showing every individuals activities. Do you find that to be an easy job?’ queried Kimathi. ‘Oh no!’ replied the leaders. ‘It is a very hard job and in fact it requires very educated people to run it,’ said Macaria Kimemia. ‘I and Mr Karari Njama planned all that last night and we did not sleep until three [hours] after midnight,’ said Kimathi.

Songs Record,

(10)

Activities,

‘You must really have worked hard,’ said Kahiu-Itina. ‘Yes, we worked hard; but we must work much harder than

this

our goal,’ I commented. ‘We want five educated persons,’ continued Kimathi, ‘one for Ituma Ndemi Army, another for Gikuyu Iregi Army and two for the Mburu Ngebo Army, who would move from camp to camp

in order to achieve

instructing

how

these records

these records should be kept

which should be given

record them in the final books.

and

collecting all

to the fifth person

The

fifth

who would

person would be our

Mwangi Gicimu (pointing at him) most educated man Gikuyu Iregi Army has and I do not Chief Secretary.

I

think

is

the

think

would be any objections in appointing him for Murang’a.’ He paused to wait for comments and with the approval of Murang’a people, Mwangi Gicimu was then elected. Kimathi pointed at me and asked me to stand up. ‘That is Mr Njama of Ituma Ndemi Army,’ said Kimathi. ‘The most educated and capable man we have all over the Nyandarua Mountain. I have no doubts that he should be our Chief Secretary. Do you approve of that?’ All the leaders raised their hands saying ‘isi,’ [i.e., ‘Yes.’] ‘Sit down Chief Secretary, I am certain that you know your job,’ said Kimathi laughingly. He pointed at Brig. Gathiitu Waithaka saying, ‘You all know him, our Kenya Defense Council Secretary. I think that his duties are only when the Council meets and I would suggest that he would work for the Ituma Ndemi Army.’ This was approved. I learnt later that we had many more qualified people than him. Nevertheless, his popularity had qualified him. Casting our eyes on the Mburu Ngebo Army we could hardly get any educated person among those brave fighters. It was then necessary to post two people from either Nyeri or Murang’a so that the job could be done correctly. I suggested that Aram Ndirangu who had been a teacher in my former school was a person whom I trusted that could do that job well. Being supported by Gen. there

Kahiu-Itina, that he

who knew Aram

was a

clerk in

before the emergency, and the fact

one of Kahiu-Itina’s sections made

Aram

THE MWATHE MEETING to be called on.

255

When

he arrived, there was no objection and Aram was told that the following day he would accompany Gen. Mbaria

Kaniu

to

North Kinangop

to record the things

he would be instructed about. As Aram left we went on to look for another person to record the accounts in Nderagwa between Mweiga and Thomson’s Falls. Gen. Kahiu-Itina suggested that since I had nothing to record

would be better for me to fill the remaining vacancy after which I would start my job as the Chief Secretary entering all data brought to me together with what I would have collected from that area. Kahiu-Itina’s suggestion was supported by many people and it was resolved that I would start my work in the Mburu Ngebo Army, making Gen. Kimbo’s camp as my head office. Kaburu (alias Mathenge Gathiru) was appointed as my guide and in charge of my permanent bodyguard of three armed warriors and a carrier. To end that subject, Kimathi said ‘We have to write letters to at the time

it

:

the Nairobi Central

Committee and inform them how to keep these records we have been discussing, and another letter to Gen. China for the Mt. Kenya warriors. We have to send Gen. Maten-

who speaks Kikamba fluently, to Ukambani to mobilize the Akamba warriors. I will personally go to the boundary of Murang’a and Kiambu and awaken the Kiambu people. It is too late up to now to find that their warriors have not entered the forest. If I could get [i.e., make contact with] the Kiambu warriors,

jagwo,

I

would be able

to send

our message to the Masai warriors. Mean-

am

on that safari, I would ask Mburu Ngebo Army leaders to send out a few warriors into the small forests such as Nyandundo, Dundori, Bahati, Longonot, Thomson’s Falls and Mau Summit. I he other thing that I would stress is the making of guns. I while, as

I

‘

want

to see every warrior with a

gun and you must work hard to achieve this in as short a time as possible. You must collect dues from our members, as much as you can, and spare the money for buying ammunition, medicine, clothing, stationery and guns-factory equipment.

It

has been reported to

me

that an excellent blacksmith

has entered the forest in the Ruthaithi area and that he can make guns with no difference from the manufactured ones. We would

be very glad and smith from every

hope that

this

if

this

camp

proved to be true we would require a

to get together

and be taught by him.

would improve and quicken our supply of arms.

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

256

‘You must also continue to make hand grenades and even bombs. Cut the bullets into two equal parts. Put half the gun powder into an empty bullet case; then carefully fill the other half with small stones of shotgun balls size or sharp heavy pieces of metal about the size of the shot itself and try [to see] whether you This was suggested to me last night by Mr Njama and we have not yet experimented it. ‘Now, as you can see, we are very late for lunch,’ said Kimathi, changing his tone. ‘As you are aware of our store being stolen, I

can make two

very

bullets out of one.

much doubt whether we would have any

lunch today. Any-

way, we better have half an hour break. In the afternoon we

shall

about the laws and regulations or any other rising matter. During that time Mr Njama will take the camp clerks and instruct them how to keep the records we have been discussing. Make sure, Mr Njama, that you see and sign a specimen copy of every type

discuss

of record for all the clerks.’ I

promised him that

I

would do

as

he wanted.

We

then

left

the meeting room.

saw a group of people outside Kimathi’s hut. Some of us went there to see what had happened. I was very surprised to see three warriors who had stolen food from the store badly tied like a bundle and urged to tell the names of the other participants. Their hands and heads had been pushed between their legs in such a way that knees touched ears. Kimathi asked them whether they had stolen food and they pleaded guilty. When they were asked to mention the other companions, they said that they were only three. Kimathi said that they should be beaten till they give out the names of the other thieves. I

I

addressed

sympathetically

itungati have

admitted their

Kimathi.

theft.

I

‘Field

feel

that

Marshal,

these

they should be

punished because of their theft only. I feel it both unfair and unwise to punish them for the other thieves. I think that many different gangs stole the food at different times. Moreover, even if

two or three groups met at the store it would be difficult to know one another in the night’s darkness for the fact that they do not

know each

other even during the day. Please,

these itungati have

come from

Kinangop, Nderagwa,

etc.,

is

that all

Murang’a, Nyeri, and they do not know each other. I different areas,

also think that the pains they are

that

remember

a sufficient punishment.’

now

getting for being tied like

THE MWATHE MEETING ‘For

how

‘For a

long have they been

more than two

little

tied,’

257

asked Kimathi.

hours,’ replied the storekeeper.

‘Untie them,’ said Kimathi.

he guards started untying them. ‘These are Home Guards living with 1

us,’

one of the

said

leaders,

‘they care only for their bellies.’

‘You ate

to

your satisfaction

last night, didn’t

Kimemia. ‘We did sir,’ replied the itungati. ‘I would then satisfy myself by beating you have had enough pain !’ said Gen. Kimemia. ‘Give them twenty strokes each for me,’

you?’ asked Gen.

until

said

I

you

feel that

Kimathi

as

he

entered his hut.

The

three itungati received twenty canes each on their buttocks

from Gen. Kimemia. They were then set free. binding that there was no lunch, I called Captain Ngiriri and told him that I wanted all the camp clerks to be gathered at a place where I would be able to instruct them. As soon as these clerks were gathered, I started instructing them. I drew all the columns, titled them and filled the first line for illustration. I

gave them the

drawing the second.

When

first

record to copy out while

I

was

completed seven records, I started checking every individual’s work. I made the necessary corrections

and signed the correct

I

pattern.

When

I

finished checking sixty-

them how to record the battle history of the camps. I warned them to take much care in cases where murder had been committed never to record real names of our warriors concerned. I suggested that it would be better to use the unknown nicknames or to create new names or letters for substitution which only the clerk can understand. I warned them that if the Government ever catches these books, there should be no evidence whatsoever for convicting any of the warriors in these record books, d his would be exactly the same way in writing out the camp activities, d hey were to write in such a way that only three clerks’ work,

I

started teaching

;

we could understand

it

—by using the

forest terminology

and code

words. [They were] never to record that so-and-so was sent to kill so-and-so. In these cases, they were to write down the date and the place to remind themselves and then write that ‘when our brave warriors showed the enemies our strength they returned to the f

forest victoriously singing.’

The camp

activities

should be written

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

258

camp

only after discussions between the

leader

and weighing each

individual’s activities.

‘While making songs you can use our nicknames for brave warriors and for their brave actions while fighting against the Government forces, but never use these names if the action hap-

pened

on or

to be

worst informer or

a

in

home, whether he or she be the

civilian’s

traitor.*

When all was over, I appointed Mathitu and Dan Gacau me to collect data. I went with them to Kimathi after the prayer and after reporting

He

the two assistants.

to assist

evening

him to allow me checked what they had copied as

my

first

duty.

I

requested

and was very pleased with their work. After interrogating them he told them that they would work under me. When I asked Kimathi what rules they had made during my absence, he replied that they did not make any new ones but discussed the old ones and emphasized that all the leaders must see that all the rules and regulations are obeyed. Then Kimathi took a short horn and with it drew some beer from a big gourd in which he was brewing. He gave it to me and asked me to tell him whether the beer was ready. ‘It is ready now. If it stays until tomorrow it will be as bitter as

patterns

pepper,’ ‘Yes,

I said. is

it

because

I

have put

in

a

lot

of bitter honey,’ said

Kimathi. ‘The bees here collect the juice from bitter trees such as mikorobothi and mithukuroi. By the way, what is your ruling generation group?’ ‘I

am

Mwangi

of

‘You are then

generation,’

my

I

replied.

Kimathi, ‘and you cannot par-

father,’ said

you are not of the present Irungu-Maina. And what is your clan?’

ticipate in public ceremonies because

ruling generation of ‘I

am Mumbui

Kaboci,

I

of the great

took a

little sip

he had written the to Gen. China.

‘Oh

!

as

Mbari a

him the empty horn. my clan. Have another horn!’ said Kimathi. out of the horn and then asked him whether letters to the Nairobi Central Committee and

replied, giving

‘Oh! You are of I

Wamagana, now known

Finish off that horn.

He

me

You

will help

me

to write the letters,*

Gen. China and inform him about the formation of Kenya Defense Council and ask him to organize the Mt. Kenya Branch; how to keep all the said Kimathi.

told

that

I

was

to write

THE MWATHE MEETING

259

records; to try

and increase

discipline over

our warriors, and to send a report on

Embu

his

arms by

all

means;

to

maintain

Meru and

warriors and their leaders.

With the

light

the patterns for

from a

fire,

I

drafted the long

letter,

enclosing

and the necessary explanations. When I finished, I gave it to Kimathi. After reading, he stamped it Land and Freedom Army. I was very surprised to see that beautiful stamp. He told me that it had been prepared in Nairobi and that he had just ordered a Kenya Defense Council stamp from Kamau, the general Secretary of the Nairobi Council, and would send it along with a copy of the letter. When we finished writing the letters, Macaria Kimemia and Kahiu-Itina arrived. They said that they wanted to taste the beer. ‘1

he beer

is

all

the records

for ceremonial prayers,’ said Kimathi.

‘And the

prayers must start before the birds start their prayers; that means that every person must wake up before four in the morning. This

should be announced to

all

the

camp

inhabitants.’

Captain Ngiriri was called and asked to announce the time of prayers. Kimathi took the horn and gave us all in turns. Then Macaria Kimemia and Kimathi continued to plan their journey to Murang a. Kimathi said that soon after prayers we should pack our luggage and at seven all the warriors should assemble there

and we would wish them goodbye. ‘Mr Njama, I expect to meet you in September in Location 8, Fort Hall, at Karuri Ngamune,’ said Kimathi. ‘If I am able to contact the Kiambu warriors, I would then spend the rest of my time with them till we meet there. I hope that you will all collect that data that would be useful to our independent government.’ ‘I will do my best, Marshal,' I promised. I then wished them good night and went to my room. Though the ration had been reduced, the little beer I had taken caused me to fall into a very deep sleep. I was awakened by a noise of someone who was calling out people to assemble for prayers.

went out still covering with blankets. It was a clear night and all the stars were shining brightly. The morning star was brilliantly shining a little over Mt. Kenya. 1 he birds started prayers. I was interested to see what Kimathi was doing. I stood near the door and watched Kimathi inside. He drew beer with a little gourd ( ndahi), poured a little on the fire

so as to extinguish

it

I

at equalateral point representing three

mau mau from within

260

kitchen stones while saying

:

‘As the fire goes out, so

may

all

the

go out of us as these charcoals run cold, so may our enemies, and let peace remain.’ He poured a little on the frames of his doors so as to cleanse his house. When he came out, he stood facing Mt. Kenya and poured some beer on the ground, saying

evils

j

:

‘God

!

We

give thee only

what we have, honey, animal (domestic)

Pouring a little of these on the ground, he said ‘That is yours, our Father Gikuyu, and that is yours my father Waciuri.’ Then, pouring a little [more] beer and the mixture he had on the ground, [he spoke the followfat, cereals (a

mixture of different kinds of

millets).’

:

ing prayer.]

God, we beg you to defeat our enemies and to defend us from them close their eyes so that they will not see us. Our Father Gikuyu used to pray you with these things I have in my hands. On all occasions you heard him and fulfilled his request. We are his sons and daughters. We claim that the highland grazing plateau you gave us and all the fertile land ;

you gave our Father Gikuyu has become foreigners’ plunder. We beseech Thee our Heavenly Father to restore our stolen land and drive away these strangers who have turned out to be our enemies. They have taken their strong firearms against an unarmed nation. Oh God Be our arms. We are certain that even if they pour fire on us from their airplanes you will still protect us from their wrath. God, we request Thy peaceful and merciful eyes to look upon the blood flood flowing in our country, and hear the cries of the perishing lives demanding Thy !

help.

We

are certain that you are the

Mighty One, and no nation

can defeat You with its earthly weapons. Our Father, our Leader, our General, we have confidence in you that we shall come out of this forest victoriously and that you will bring our enemies, the white strangers, under our heels. We want to rule our country and to enjoy

all its

produce.

Oh, Lord God, we kindly beg You

to bless the fruits of this

we drink, the honey, the leaves and vegetables animals we live with, so that all in this forest may

forest, the

water

and the become our food without infecting us with any

When we

cast our eyes in the reserves

seeing our parents, wives

we

disease.

are very sorrowful

and our children, widows and orphans,

!

THE MWATHE MEETING

26l

Our homes have become ruins and foxes dwelling places. Our sons and daughters are shot and raped in the eyes of their parents. What a great woe Oh God, we are suppressed, starving.

!

our

help have not been responded

cries for

to.

Oh

God, hear

our prayers

We

pray you God to protect our associates and leaders in the detention camps. Turn the enemies to be their friends. We sympathetically ask

You

to

defend our leader,

Jomo Kenyatta,

Give him power and wisdom to defeat the enemy and to be able to lead our nation. We pray Thee, Oh Lord, for the dead. Keep their lives [i.e., spirits] in peace and help their names here to become immortal in his trial.

national heroes. Please,

Oh

God,

our today’s journey and all the journeys of our warriors. Bless all our warriors, wherever they may be. bless

Kimathi then moved forward and approached a burning fire and poured all that was remaining in his hands on the fire saying As this fire goes, so be it with all our evils. As the wood and char:

coal run cold, so

bury the

fire,

so

may the war run cold and peace prevail. As we may all the evils be buried and never rise up.’

hen all the people followed with a bit of any food in the right hand and a handful of wet soil in the left hand, threw these on the 1

then raised their hands high facing Mt. Kenya. By the time the last man threw what he had, there was no fire but a big heap fire,

of

soil.

We

all

together said the Christian’s Lord’s Prayer and ended

our prayers by saying ‘7 haai, 7 hathaiya Ngai Thai three times. ‘Go and pack your luggage and come back here at seven o’clock. ,

Those who do not want to leave the camp may remain. It is able that you leaders wait for your itungati who are on They would bring you food.’

We

went

advissafari.

Gen. Kirihinya, who had been sent by Gen. Kimbo, so that he would lead me to their camp. On the way, Thiong’o saw me and told me that he wanted to accomall

dispersed.

I

pany me and that he had

to see

dozen itungati who had the North Kinangop. He went with me to to wait for a

gone to raid cattle in Kirihinya and after a short discussion we decided to wait for those itungati because of the arms they had carried. Returning to Kimathi’s hut, I found that a group of leaders were drinking the remaining beer.

I

was welcomed and joined

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

262

the beer was very bitter, the drinkers were very

them.

Though

many

so that each person

him drunk, but causing a

drank only a little effect.

little,

insufficient to

When we had

make

finished drink-

were ready and waiting for us. We went out and after standing up to respect Kimathi they sat down trying to expose themselves to the morning sun rays. Kimathi stood up and addressed the mob, saying that he was very glad because of the good work done by our itungati in the past fights and raids and in carrying the food for a very long distance, though some hungry itungati had stolen food from the camp store which was a very bad manner, for all of us had sworn ing, all the warriors

never to steal anything belonging to our members. He frightened the warriors that those who had stolen the food had broken part

vows and would meet great misfortune for this. He warned us to bide with our vows or else we would make our God angry and cause him to pour his wrath on the breachers. He told them of the Kenya Defense Council and that it had elected four secretaries to record all their losses caused by the Kenya Government and record all the matters that would cause our names and our work to be known to our Government and the

of their

world. ‘These are our secretaries,’ said Kimathi, calling us to stand

He

in front.

mine,

I

letter to

gave each of us a closed envelope.

found a hundred each of the four

shilling note

secretaries.

and the

When

original

My letter read

I

opened

copy of a

:

TO ALL SECTION LEADERS IN NYANDARUA The bearer, Karari Njama, is our Secretary. He will instruct your clerks how to keep our records and collect all the necessary :

data referring to Registers, Loss Account Records, Civilian Death Records, Kamatimu Register, Hospital Records, Supplies Record, Cash Books, History, Camp Activities, Hymns and Songs.

Help him with all his necessities, food, clothing, etc. Lead and escort him from your camp to the next camp. He is an officer and may help you in plans and organization. Yours,

Dedan Kimathi President, Kenya Defense Council LAND AND FREEDOM ARMY 20 August 1953

:

THE MWATHE MEETING When we had

received our

263

Kimathi gave the other leaders two minutes each to speak to our warriors. Macaria Kimemia, the first speaker, stressed about our laws and regulations and emphasized obedience. The second speaker, Kahiu-Itina, talked on what and how to raid. The third speaker, Gakure Karuri, encouraged our warriors and warned them never to surrender. The fourth speaker, Mbaria Kaniu, talked about camp activities and promised our warriors that they will share the Kenya Highlands.

When

Many God

I

all

stood,

I

told

letters,

our warriors

people took oath with you.

:

You

are the only ones that

has selected to deliver our country out of colonial exploi-

tation

and the

Your weariness, starvation, perpains and in some cases your blood or life

settlers’ slavery.

severance of cold,

would be the ransom [i.e., payment] for the liberation of all the people of Kenya and even the game animals no matter whether they took the oath as you did or not. It is of great importance then to note that if you do not bear these difficulties you can neither free yourselves or anybody else.

—

—

we can endure all these difficulties, we shall certainly set our nation free and we shall come out of this forest as victorious national heroes. As we learn of the legend of Gikuyu and Mumbi, who lived thousands of years ago, so will our heroes’ If

names become forever immortal. If you want the nation to make your name immortal, you must be prepared to die for the nation. I think that all of you here are prepared and determined to make your names immortal. Our God is in front of us and I have no doubt of winning. I think it advisable for me to read a few verses from the Holy Bible. They are words of the great wise prophets of ancient days. ‘For

all this I

considered in

my

heart even to declare

all this,

and the wise, and their works are in the hands no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is

that the righteous, of

God

:

before them. ‘All

things

righteous,

and

come

alike

to the

wicked

to

all

:

there

is

one event to the

good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrias is the good, so is the sinner; and he that ficeth not sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. ‘This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, ;

to the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

264

one event unto all yea, also the heart of the sons full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they

that there of

men

live,

is

is

and

:

after that they

‘For to

him

that

go

to the dead.

joined to

is

all

the living there

is

hope

:

for

a living dog is better than a dead lion. ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with they might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, grave whither thou

in the

goest.’

have read the verses in Kikuyu and without adding a word of my own. I would give the final message as it is found in the Revelation, Chapter 22, Verses 12-14 ‘And behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to I

:

:

man

give every ‘I

am

and the

according as his work shall be.

Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the

first

last.

do

‘Blessed are they that

have right to the

tree of

life,

commandments, that they may and may enter in through the gates

his

into the city.’

Two

days ago, none of you knew that he or she would be

issued with a rank.

Your

leaders

and ranked you according the last message

I

Kimathi stood up

You

When

are

He my

said

your work. This

have read to you

according as his work shall the meeting.

to

came without your knowledge is

‘to

a true symbol of give every

man

be.’

for his final message

and closing down of

:

warriors

and

disciples,

followers

Jesus parted with his disciples, he sent

them

and

pupils.

to teach

and

and baptized them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The same message I convey unto you all. Go all over Kenya (raising high his walking stick in his right hand) and preach to all African people and baptize them in the name of Gikuyu and Mumbi and of our soil. If you die for the soil that will never perish, our future generations which will use that same soil you died for will ever rejoicingly maintain your name and fame. Work hard and pray Goodbye all preach to

all

nations

!

walking

and standing alert as a person ready for his photo to be taken, Kimathi smiled as the crowd cheered him, wishing him the best luck on his journey as they dispersed. Swinging

his

stick

THE MWATHE MEETING At

this stage,

alas, since I

balls

had

and locked

much wanted

very

I

left

his

my

camera

photo behind

to take Kimathi’s

home,

at

my

I

265 photo but

opened both

my

eye-

retina.

Kimathi, aged 33, stood almost six feet, strong and healthy; his long self-woven hair hanging over a fair brown oval face; his big grey-white and brown eyes protruding below black eyebrows separated by a wide short

A

very

mustache grew above the thick lips; his large teeth with a wide natural gap on the center of the upper jaw and a wider gap on the lower jaw in which two middle incisors had been customarily removed; his oval round chin covered with little beards; his long neck shooting out of his wide shoulders, dressed in a suit of whitish-grey corduroy jumper flat nose.

little

on which three army stars were fixed on both shoulders, and long trousers. Three writing pens were clipped on his top right hand jumper coat pocket, a heap of exercise books in his left hand, in which the ring finger had been cut off at the second joint, an coat,

automatic

pistol hoisted at his leather waist belt,

—

a metal bracelet

on his right hand wrist which he told me had been given him by Paul Njeru Gicuki, a close friend and Thomson’s Falls KAU

who had been

captured and detained several months earlier. His L-shaped curved brown walking stick, touching the ground, official

stood vertically and parallel to his trousers. His black shoes pre-

vented him from feeling the

Kimathi turned

damp

frozen

soil.

gave the exercise books to his carrier and started for Murang’a at 9 a.m. His group went on singing the previous Murang’a journey song left,

:

June 5th we left Mbaria’s Heading for Tuthu to see our warriors And when we arrived at Mathioya River We found many difficulties, rain, cold, mud And hunger throughout the night. In the forest

we

lived

under

many

difficulties

Of heavy rains and many days of hunger The ice had become our food And we persevered for three days The

rest of the

crowd dispersed singing

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

266

The House of Mumbi has no enmity with anybody And does not think to make enmity with anybody He who hates it, may God destroy He who loves it, may God keep him well remained standing with a few leaders looking at the long marching lines of our warriors dispersing, while a few were just returning to remain in the camp. When they had all disappeared, I asked Thiong’o and Kirihinya to make arrangements for posting I

as

sentries

no

there were

sentries.

I

also

asked them to think

whether we would shift into a new camp nearby or remain in that old camp. After our short discussion, in which we invited other leaders concerned, sentries were posted and we resolved that we would remain there for at most two days awaiting for our warriors. I called my assistants and told them that we had to start work

and then recording the individual had in the camp. We walked uphill and there

losses of the

persons

we

some rocky areas we came to a flat top area with scattered growing big trees, many old fallen trees, some of which had more than 30 feet in circumference, and grass grew everywhere. This is where our warriors had gone to spend the day when they understood that the camp was not well guarded. We spent the whole day there working. The weather had changed. It was a fine clear day. In the evening we went back to the camp. It looked like a deserted village with only about 400 inhabitants of different sections. Some sections had left two or three persons to lead their warriors where the others had gone. The whole management of the camp, with its joys and noisy songs, had gone away. The hungry warriors sat by their fires drinking honey, which they had collected during the day, diluted with lukewarm water. Kirihinya’s section had roasted and preserved meat to last them for three days more and were willing to share some to our warriors who had joined them. I called my luggage carrier, Gicuki Hinga, and asked him to bring the packet of wheat flour I had brought.

some

I

gave

it

to Kirihinya

cakes. After dinner

The

we

fell

who

after passing

asked his cooks to

many

still

a fine clear day.

warriors scattered in the neighboring

forest in search of honey. Leaders, girls

uphill to spend the day.

us

asleep.

following morning, August 21st, was

After morning prayers,

make

and a few warriors went

THE MWATHE MEETING At 10 a.m.

when

I

was

still

recording

airplane roars reached

my

267

accounts of some individuals

loss

ears.

As the roaring increased,

I

and climbed up on a big fallen log in order to see which direction the airplanes were heading. To my surprise. I saw six Harvard bombers from Mweiga Aerodrome aviating directly to our camp. I shouted to the people to hide very quickly, jumping down to take my cover under the big log. The airplanes started dropping bombs at the guards’ camp about a mile away before all people had gone to their hiding places and [they] were forced to lie down on very small bushes. Two airplanes passed over our heads and dropped two bombs about two hundred yards to our west. The cleared grass area and the camps could be clearly seen by a person from the airplanes [and there] each plane unloaded a closed the books

score of bombs.

They then

aimlessly started dropping

the scattered forest areas surrounding the camp.

One

of

bombs to the bombs

about a hundred yards from us. This caused a horrible death hooting noise, strong winds, earth tremors and much fear. As the fell

damp

or twigs blown by the

bomb

on some of us, I thought that we were spotted by the airplanes and then with great regret for our inability to shoot the airplanes, the love of my country and soil

fell

and sorrow of death, caused me to grab soil in my both hands and with a true faith in God ask Ngai’s protection. My faith in the Movement had made me almost an optimist with a belief that all things will end well on our side. After ten minutes of bombing, the airplanes continued firing from machine guns for another ten minutes and then departed. people, fear

When around

the airplanes

left,

I

thanked

God

much and moved

very

whether there was any casualty.

saw two girls and a warrior trembling because of fear. Thiong’o, Kirihinya and I went to the camp to see what the airplanes had done. I saw many pools of water in the holes made by the bombs. On our arrival at the camp, I was very much surprised to see that the camp had been ruined. At least each airplane had dropped ten bombs right inside the camp. Many huts had collapsed and some were completely buried. In Kimathi’s hut we found two warriors eating roasted potatoes. They had unknowingly smeared their faces with ashes and looked very hungry and ugly. I asked them where they were when the airplanes dropped bombs. They told us that they were all the time to see

inside that hut.

They

told us they could not

I

move anywhere

with-

out being seen by the airplanes and therefore had decided to wait

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

268

for death right there.

bombs on

the

his

Each had some patches

body.

We

could see holes

of

mud

made by

thrown by the

mud

in

had found some potatoes hidden in a bush. We did not agree with them for we suspected that they had stolen the potatoes from the store. Nevertheless, we made no effort to find out. We believed that the two warriors were blessed and saved by God. We then went to see the guards. We found that they were all well. They told us that they had run away some two hundred yards from the camp during the bombing period and they felt as if the bombs were exploding among them. I told them that some itungati might have been captured or surrendered, for the airplanes must have been directed by someone who knew where the camp was. I urged them to watch for land forces who might be brought by lorries to the Moorlands to check the airplanes work. Some other two warriors arrived calling their sentries and reporting that they were leaving that moment. We also decided to leave.

walls of the hut.

On

our return,

They

we

told us that they

crossed the stream in order to see the other

We

noted three bombs near the stream which had not exploded, but they were deep in the mud. We were afraid that they

camp.

may all

explode at any time and

our itungati not to return

we

in the

hurriedly

moved away

to

warn

camp.

Arriving where our warriors were,

we were

glad to hear that

was no casualty to our warriors. Only one gitungati had been hurt a little on the right leg by a small stone thrown by the bombs. We collected our belongings and were ready to leave for Karathi’s Mother in the Nderagwa region. Some itungati had gone to collect honey and we could no longer wait for anyone. We thought that they would follow us or stay in any other camp they would find and they could be told whereabouts we were. At midday we started our safari of eighty-one persons, moving due north on an animal track which seemed as if it were the laid boundary between the Rift Valley and Central Province. From here one can see any part of the country in any direction, looking at it from above. I used three different types of binoculars which had been obtained from the Tree Tops Hotel to check how far one could see using them. It was possible to see clearly a man or an animal in the Rift Valley but it was difficult to see clearly a person in the Nyeri area. I could see well buildings in camps and Government forces’ tents. there

CHAPTER XV

TOURING THE FOREST GAMPS During

the remaining months of 1953, the Kenya Defense secretaries and those few leaders who, like Dedan

Council Kimathi, were almost constantly on the move, visited most of the Aberdare Forest camps. The roles assumed by these representatives of the Council were, in fact, those of organizers and In their tours, as we shall see from Karari’s account, they attempted to help in the planning and execution liaison officers.

of raids, give instruction to leaders

on general

tactical procedures,

new

record book system, set out the broader aims of the revolt in speeches and gain recognition and support for

introduce the the

Kenya Defense Council from

Mwathe

meeting.

leaders not present at the

with any precision the measure of success achieved by these men, though my data suggest that

it

It is difficult to assess

varied considerably from

camp

to

camp and

area

to area. In general, their greatest effectiveness

seemed to be with representatives were present at

whose leaders or their Mwathe. These leaders, on the whole, accepted the authority and legitimacy of the Kenya Defense Council and were making an effort to implement its rulings and policies. Less effective were the efforts to organize the smaller sections under leaders who did not attend the Mwathe meeting and/or were reluctant to acknowledge the authority of the Kenya Defense Council and the leadership of Kimathi. Little if any effective influence, on the other hand, could be exerted on either the very small komerera groups or on those sections of the Kenya Levellation Army which established semi-permanent encampments within sections

the forest fringe.

Though, on the whole, Kimathi’s

efforts to

bring

Kiambu

warriors into the forest organization were unsuccessful, he did manage to contact Kiambu elders in the reserve and learn the

whereabouts of certain guerrilla sections. The Kiambu District Council elders had retained considerable control over their fighting groups and were relatively successful in enforcing their ruling 269

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

270

borne out by Government reports of relative ‘quiet’ in Kiambu during this period and is illustrated by one of my Kiambu informants, Karigo Muchai, in the against reserve raids. This

following passage

is

1

In late September 1953, I was sent on another mission; this time to the European Settled Area of eastern Kiambu where I instructed Gen. Gitau Kali to shift his forces from the Settled

Area to Narok. As we talked during the night in his hut, we were attacked by a small group of Special Branch men and their askari. We returned their fire and when the hut went up in flames under the Sten guns, we separated and disappeared into the bush. None of our men were injured, but as we had fled in different directions, I was obliged to return to Limuru that night without an escort. Three days later I learned that Gitau Kali had shifted his force to the area around Kikuyu Station, only eight miles from his original position. Here, he was acting in violation of District Committee rules, attacking Home Guard and police posts indiscriminately and giving Government an excuse to badly punish all

of the nearby villagers.

the reserve to continue

We

could not allow these attacks in

and a message was

ordering him to appear before the

Kiambu

sent to Gitau Kali District

Committee.

When

he arrived from Kikuyu Station, he was severely reprimanded. In order to discipline him for not obeying our ruling against fighting in the reserve,

we

agreed that he should receive

and be hung by the wrists for an hour from a tree. After being punished, Kali was ordered to lead his fighters to Narok immediately. This order he carried out promptly. fifty strokes

Kimathi’s scouts, while learning of the existence of several Kiambu fighting groups in the southern Aberdare region (offi-

Kikuyu Escarpment Forest), as well as in the Mau Escarpment, Suswa Hill, Melili Forest, Mt. Longonot and the Narok area, failed to make contact with these groups or cially designated the

learn

much

regarding their activities or organization.

be useful at this and hear a little

might point, therefore, to interrupt Karari’s account more from Karigo Muchai regarding the situaIt

This passage, and the one which follows, have been translated into English from the original taped account of Karigo Muchai, which was recorded in Kikuyu. 1

1

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS tion in

Kiambu. As we

shall see, these

Kiambu

27

guerrilla units

command and were linked together common base of supplies in Kiambu Kiambu District Committee of elders.

lacked a central military only loosely through their

and

their relation to the

As the

Government increased, with sweeps of the villages becoming more frequent and with beatings, arrest, theft of property and the rape of our women becoming repressive measures of

the order of the day,

many

of our fighters were leaving to join

comrades in the forests. Three camps had been set up in Narok, two in the Longonot area and three others in the southern Aberdares. Apart from the investigations I was carrying out on their

Government

atrocities,

I

made

several

trips

into these areas

acting as a messenger, delivering guns and ammunition and escorting new fighters from the reserve and Nairobi into the forests.

In June 1953 a It

was

to consist

new Kiambu District Committee was formed. of 24 members and remain hidden in the

European-settled area of Limuru.

was elected along with another man to represent Kiambaa Location. Two members were elected from each of the three divisional committees and two from each of Kiambu’s nine locations, making a total of 24 elders on the District Committee. Our people in Nairobi also sent two members to sit in on important meetings. At this time, as movement became more difficult and meetings in the locations harder and more dangerous to hold, all of the lesser committees in Kiambu were disbanded and the locational representatives on the District Committee were empowered to act on behalf of their people in the various locations and to maintain communications with them through messengers. Most of the members of the District Committee were housed by our

Limuru

fighters in the

Soon

after this

man

to represent

post

by the

Marshal.

Our

area.

reorganization,

our fighters

District

I

when

the need arose for a

Kiambu, I was selected for this Committee and given the rank of Field in

were organized on the sub-location, location and district level. Representatives from each lower group would be sent to the next highest committee with the result that our District Committee of fighters consisted of 1 9 members two from each locational fighting unit and myself as chairman. fighters

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

272

My

main job was to act as representative of the fighters on the District Committee of elders, where I would put forward the requests, suggestions and grievances of the fighting units as well as passing on to them the directives of the elders. I was, in effect, the link between the District Committee of elders and the fighters of the district, as well as the link between the forest

and our people

fighters

A man

in the reserves.

named Waruingi, who was

later killed

by the

security

was one of our most successful and daring leaders in the Kiambu bush and it was my responsibility to maintain contact with him and to supply him with arms, food and men when needed. The Kiambu people in Nairobi were our main source of arms, medicine, clothing and other necessary supplies. These forces,

would be delivered to me and I would take the supplies directly to Waruingi or to one of our other leaders in Narok, Longonot,

Ngong

or the southern Aberdares.

In July, Government, apparently getting some information

from its informers, sent out a group of tribal police to arrest me. I was in my house late one night when I heard footsteps outside. Quickly, I grabbed a few of my belongings and made

my way

out through a window, disappearing unnoticed into the

darkness of a cornfield.

My

wife and aged parents were interro-

gated for some time by the police as to as all

had sworn an oath

ing that they didn’t

From

this

my

whereabouts. But

of secrecy, they simply kept

know where

time onwards

I

I

on repeat-

was.

decided to remain in hiding with

Committee of 24. Here, I had the protection of 36 fighters and could more easily carry out my work for the Movement. With Government repressive measures mounting and our fighters operating more and more out of the forests, the Kiambu District Committee concerned itself increasingly with the welfare the District

of relatives of killed or detained

members. Collections of money

were arranged for their care and assistance. And money was also collected to pay the legal fees of men accused on capital charges, such as the possession of arms or ammunition. It was a favourite

game

some of the European Special Branch men to place a bullet or two in the pocket of a man they were searching during a sweep. They would then ‘discover’ the bullets in the presence of witnesses and charge the man of being in possession of of

.

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS ammunition. Several tricks I

such as

men were

tried

and hung

273

as a result of

this.

also continued assisting the

committee

in

its

work

of inves-

Government atrocities. The findings were sent to the Central Province Committee in Nairobi, where attempts were tigating

being

made

to bring these facts before the eyes of the world

through the press and a few sympathetic Europeans Our forest fighters from Kiambu were not, at this time, .

.

inte-

grated within the main body of fighters located in the Aberdare Forest adjacent to the Fort Hall and Nyeri Districts. When news

reached our District Committee that on two occasions some of our men had been attacked and disarmed by Fort Hall fighters under the command of Gen. Kago it was decided by the elders, and agreed upon by the Central Province Committee in Nairobi, ?

that

Kago

should be contacted and an attempt

made

to set

matters straight.

In August 1953 I was sent with three elders and an escort of four fighters into the southern Aberdares to meet with Kago,

who was operating in the forests around the Fort Hall-Kiambu border. When we met I told him our grievances and handed him a

from the District Committee setting out in detail the two incidents in which his men were involved. I explained to him that it was stupid for us to fight one another in order to gain firearms. We were all brothers engaged in a war against the Europeans and should act in unity whether from Fort Hall, Nyeri, Kiambu, Embu or Meru. Kago replied that he had letter

already learned of the incidents and that they had been carried out by some of his men without his knowledge. He said he had already punished the men involved and guaranteed us that

such mistakes would not occur again in the future. Though Kago could have been held responsible for the actions of his men and punished, I must say in his defense that this type of incident was often very difficult to avoid in the early

months

of the fighting. In

camp

many

cases the guards posted

of a group of forest fighters

around

wore stolen Home Guard uniforms and when seeing strangers approach would signal them in a manner requiring a special response. As sometimes happened, new recruits just entering the forest would not know these signals and hence could easily be taken for enemies and ambushed. On the other hand, if they spotted the guard before the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

274

he saw them, they might in ignorance open fire on what appeared to them a Home Guard and so initiate a battle. Later, incidents like this became very rare, but in mid- 1953, with the organization of the forest fighters not yet adequate to prevent them, they did occur. And this was particularly so with the

Kiambu

who

fighters,

after our people

entered the Aberdares several months

from Nyeri and Fort Hall had already estab-

lished themselves there.

During this same month of August it became necessary that I deliver arms and food to our fighters in Narok, who were under the command of Generals Nubi and Ole Kisio. I set out with 20 men and armed with 12 rifles and 6 homemade guns. It was about 5 a.m., as we moved from our hideout in Limura toward Narok, that we ran into a Government ambush near Kikuyu Station. By the time we realized it we were completely surrounded by security forces. Being in a bad position and greatly outnumbered by the enemy I decided that we should try and make a run for it rather than engage the Government forces in an open battle. I directed my group to aim all of our guns at one point in the circle around us. When I gave the signal we all opened fire and ran through the hole which our bullets prepared. Once we made our move, Government forces returned our fire and three of my men fell to the ground, dead or injured. The rest of us continued into the bush and lost our pursuers. Without stopping we continued on toward Narok, arriving the next day and turning over the supplies we had broueht to Gen. Ole Kisio.

After discussing our business

and spending the night

in

one

was necessary that I return with my 17 fighters to Limuru. We were provided with an escort of 50 additional fighters and set off through the bush during the day, making sure not to reveal ourselves to the enemv. While traveling I noticed a Government reconnaissance plane overhead, but of the

felt

Narok camps,

it

quite confident that they hadn’t spotted us. After a day’s

we were

on the ground eating, one of our guards ran up excitedly and told me that we were being surrounded by a large force of Tribal Police, Home Guards and tiring journey, as

sitting

military units.

With a

force of 67 well-armed fighters

well chosen for

its

defensive cover,

I

and being

in

a position

decided to deploy

my men

1

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS for battle.

which

Government

lasted

managed

till

forces soon

dark.

One

of

enemy Government

to capture 12

how many men

the

opened

my force

It

and a fight began was killed but we

fire

fighters

rifles.

275

is

difficult to

say just

lost.

Not knowing where the security forces had withdrawn to for the night, it was unwise for us to continue our journey. Instead, I sent a couple of my men back to Narok to ask for reinforce-

By the following morning, 300 additional fighters arrived our camp Government, of course, had also built up its forces.

ments. at

;

A

day-long battle began, ending at night-fall with a loss of 1 of our fighters. We had captured no enemy guns and it was decided that we should move out of the area.

Midnight found us in the Mt. Longonot forests where we met with a group of fighters under the command of Gen. Waruingi. We were led to Waruingi’s camp and planned to rest there for three days. At the end of the third day, as we were making preparations to leave, started to

bomb

began

we were

spotted by a military plane which

the mountain. Soon after,

Government ground

on our position. Our own force, in addition to the men who had come with me from Limuru, consisted of 300 fighters from Narok and about 400 of Waruingi’s men. After a long and gruelling battle we took stock of our position. None of our fighters were killed, though six had sustained injuries. Arrangements were made to take the injured men to the Aberdares for treatment and during the darkness of night I started off with my men and an escort of 150 fighters toward Limuru via Kijabe and Lari. When we arrived at Kijabe the fighters from Longonot and Narok bid us farewell and we were provided with a smaller escort by the local leaders for the remainder of our journey. The next day we finally reached our forces

to attack

Limuru hideout. Our escort left us but unluckily ran Government ambush and lost 25 men.

into a

At two o’clock we arrived where Thiong’o had maimed cattle. We were surprised to see that the Kenya Ng’ombe had poisoned all the seventy- eight carcasses.

They had bayoneted them

so as to enter the poison inside the

mouths.

at the ribs

meat and had put some

Though hungry, we laughed

at

their

fatty

in the

bait

and

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

276

thought they were

foolish.

They thought they would

kill

many

of

more cattle. If they hadn’t poisoned those cattle our warriors would have stayed for a fortnight feeding on them. It was a pity to see that even hyenas had not eaten that poison. We changed our direction to be northeast and we were climbing over 13,000 feet, the highest peak of Nyandarua. I and a few others climbed up the peak. Though the sun was still shining it was extremely cold. Most of the area is covered by grass and scattered cactus family plants grow on this frozen soil. Some places are just bare rocks. From here we could see all the villages in which rivers flow from this mountain in three directions east, north and west. us by the poisoned

meat but instead they urged us

to raid

:

We

time descending towards small land with many scattered big trees with more we descended the more the animals

continued our journey,

bushes then into

fertile

grass undergrowth.

The

this

increased.

The sun set when we started entering the bamboo region. Here we could see our peoples’ tracks. It was almost twilight when we arrived at General Kimbo‘s mbuci. Kimbo was glad to see his representative Gen. Kirihinya, his warriors, and other new persons. camp. All the warriors slept in tents made of calico sheet. Gen. Kimbo had a European safari tent, another manufactured big tent was used by several warriors who did not have tents of their own. My tent was set up and the fires were lit. The leaders’ fire was under a big tree where some eight leaders sat around it. Gen. Kirihinya reported that we were hungry and we would like to eat our fill. Soon some dried meat, ngarango (fried fat crisps), and the ready cold meat they had all the day was issued to all those who had been on safari. While we were eating, other meat was being roasted and cooked. Each of us was served a whole rib

There were no huts

of a big fat cow.

ate as

much

I

as four

in this

guessed

it

to be about ten to twelve pounds.

We

pounds each.

‘All the sections living in this

region live entirely on meat,’ said

Gen. Kimbo. ‘We are trying to dry and preserve meat in any possible way. We don’t ration meat here; everyone eats his fill.’ While we were eating, we reported to Gen. Kimbo all about the

Mwathe meeting. Kirihinya reported about my job. Kimbo was very much pleased with the piece of work allocated to me. He told

me

that he

had a small typewriter and that

I

could use

it

if

I

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS wanted.

He

me

277

gang had evicted five settlers, [the latter] leaving behind their livestock, houses and property. He told me that he had personally attended a raid on one of the old aged settlers and asked him to give the keys of the house. After takingout all they wanted from his house, he gave him a notice to leave the farm if he didn’t want to die. Gen. Kimbo, a young black tall [man of] medium thickness was dressed in a KAR Libyan cloth suit. His head was covered by long black wool woven into his hair, falling below his shoulders. He had a pair of gum boots and carried a small revolver and a double barrelled .44 gun ( gatua uhoro). We felt quite warm down there and being tired from the long journey we had gone, felt sleepy. I was asked not to go to bed before I drank soup. Soon the soup was brought in a big mug. It looked

like

told

that his

milk because of the fat put in

it.

This area

is

supposed

to be the richest in herbs,

which they had embittered the soup with, and [they] claimed those herbs made them strong. After drinking, I started sweating and thought that it was due the soup’s heat; but I came to realize during the night that it was the herbs effect that had generated so much heat. The following day, August 22nd, I typed five eviction notices and addressed each copy to a particular settler living nearby. I gave each seven days notice to pack his belongings and then quit our country or else recognize our people as equal humans and have full understanding that they [i.e., the Europeans] are foreigners and that they can only remain here under the Africans’ consent in a friendly cooperation. the Europeans to live like

would be quite impossible for masters and the owners of the country as It

servants.

warned

them

changed their selfishness, superiority manners, color discrimination and monopoly there would be no room for them in Kenya or anywhere in Africa. They would either accept our citizenship or go back to their densely populated islands or discover an uninhabited planet and colonize it. I reminded them that many of them are ex-army officers and they must remember very well that our people helped them to fight against the Germans who were bordering us in Tanganyika and the Italians who also had colonized our neighbors in Somali. ‘Many I

that

unless

they

African people died in order to defend you,’

[I

wrote]. ‘You

were

given the land you have today as a pension for your service in that

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

278

war while our people were given kipandes

(identification regis-

World War. The same thing happened in the Second World War; after helping you to defeat your enemies, our people were forced to dig contour and tration cards) as their gift for [service in the] First

bench

terraces as the gift.

A

good turn deserves another. We have twice helped you not to be enslaved by the Germans and Italians. Our real fight has come. Come then and help us to achieve our independence. Your help would better our relationship ‘That unjust period has gone by.

and you would be here to stay. ‘We are not fighting against the white community but we are fighting against your bad policy and system. We want to be free in our own country, organize an African Government and utilize the land you have, including the unproductive [i.e., unused] land you have reserved for your future generations while millions of Africans, the real owners of that land, are starving.

‘Kenya African Government must prevail at any rate, under all costs and in spite of all your military strength. You may think it is a dream, as you all believe, but the realization would reveal it to be a miracle. If you want to live in Kenya you must help us now when we need your help. If you are against us then pack and quit. We shall not need your help after achieving freedom. ‘I shall send General Kimbo Mutuku, whom you all know well, to check whether you have gone by the expiry of this notice Your New Kenyan, Karari Njama, Chief Secretary, Kenya Defense .

.

Council.’ I

We

gave Gen.

Kimbo

the letters to arrange for their distribution.

agreed that our warriors would take the

employed by each

bamboo

settler

who would visit

the laborers

then plant the letter in small

[tubes] just outside the front

agreed that our warriors should

letters to

door of

his house.

We

also

on 9 September of waiting for us and

these farms

became tired dispersed being convinced that we had lied in the letters. During this time my associates were busy recording. I learnt from the register that that section had 288 warriors, of whom a dozen were girls. Kimbo told me that he had another group of a hundred itungati which lived near the borders of the forest mostly engaged in storing cereals from raids for future use. He told me that the dried meat in his stores was starting to go bad, i.e., to be covered by white fungi on the top layer after two months stay in or as soon as these settlers

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS the store.

humid

I

air.

told

We

him

that that

was the

279

brought about by found that we could store meat for a longer time

only in dry places.

suggested that

effect

completely covered in order to prevent any more air to enter, the meat may last longer. We arranged that I should demonstrate what I was telling them the following day in one of the filled up stores. Having completed my work in Kimbo’s camp within ten days, I decided to visit Ndungu Gicheru, a famous leader who had shot down an airplane. I left with a group of nine warriors, descending through small bamboo bushes and then into thorny bushes. We saw many large herds of buffaloes who ran away when they saw us some remained staring at us until we disappeared. Large herds of elephants, which neither ran away or attacked us, would stand collecting our smell by moving their long trunk and amazingly observe us. The rhinos, mostly living in pairs or in threes where the third one was young, though in many occasions they ran away, they always warned us with a loud hissing not to approach them and often challenged us. Here we saw very many types of animals. We thrice stopped on the way to collect honey. One beehive gave us sufficient honey to eat and drink. We arrived Ruhotie stream at noon. The camp was situated in small bushes near the forest edge. There were no huts built. This section much resembles that of Kimbo’s; they all used tents or when there is no rain just slept in the open. All the warriors seemed very fat, looked strong and healthy. Their clothes were no different from those of garage men; they all looked black and dirty due to the fat spilt on their clothes and on their bodies. I talked to Ndungu of the job, which he knew well for he had spent a night with me at Gen. Kimbo’s. He told me that he was prepared to shift his camp near Kimbo’s the following day. He told me that one of his fighters named Cie, who had encamped two miles west would remain there with some fifty warriors and store I

if

the store doors were

—

as

much cereals as they could. I made arrangements that my

sections

and

I

would visit the subwould return with Ndungu’s gang and work for it assistants

came. In the evening, after prayers, we waited until it was dark before fires were lit. ‘It would be dangerous to light fires here where the smoke can until they

be seen by persons in the settlers’ farms,’ said Ndungu. ‘Sometimes they come with their armored cars and tanks just very near us and

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

280

them up, they

after setting

could not think that

we

first

we were

them

drive

fire

right

over our heads far away.

living so near.

inside

When we

the forest and

They

steal cattle

mix the

cattle

and then bring our cattle here. Whenever they follow the cattle we have stolen they often follow buffaloes tracks and have never found our camp.

tracks with the buffaloes’ tracks

‘My camp,

apart from raiding cattle, plans

how we

could trap

one or two of the enemy forces and acquire their guns. The repatriation of cur supporters from this area has created much

Most of the workmen in this area are Turkana and Kipsigis and they very much help our enemies.’ ‘Let me tell you, Mr. Njama,’ interrupted Kamwamba, one of his

difficulties.

junior officers. ‘You

know Leshau very

well. After repatriation,

we

Landsburg farm at night and found that Gacari’s daughter had been married by a Kipsigis man. She treated us well at first, gave us food; and when she went out she locked us in her house while she wenc to call some askaris. When they were ready, one of them shouted “Toka yote na farua ya furotakis na vipande!” (All of you come out of there with your poll tax receipts and kipandes !) We thought we were finished; quickly broke the door and opened our Sten gun swinging it in all directions. Though they opened

visited

:

fire

on

us,

we

managed them is your

could hear them running away. Four of us

to escape but three of our warriors died there.

One

of

Njama. We planned a revenge on that village. It was successful and we killed many of the villagers and burned their houses. That is why we have to rob these workers in many relative,

Mwanu

occasions.’

them an oath and instruct them on our aims and try to make them have confidence in us?’ I asked. ‘You see Mr. Njama, these are very foolish people. They wouldn’t understand what is freedom; all they can understand are

‘Why

don’t you give

the things they can see, touch or

feel.

Mind

you, they are not

farmers that they need land to cultivate; they are poor people and

never had they livestock which starved due to lack of grazing land.

The settlers satisfy their hunger by giving them posho and a little money which is used for buying tobacco, their only luxury. They do without clothing for

Three yards the whole year and

clothes or soap.

‘We have

of calico satisfies one in

’

to

send

many

missions

into

the

reserves

of

these

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS people,’ interrupted

Ndungu, ‘and open many

schools for

281

them

in

order to educate them.’ ‘At present they are

all

deceived by the Europeans that our aim

employ them and give them worse pay and treatment than what they are getting from the settlers. In all areas the Government is using all sorts of dirty propaganda, some of which would be difficult to wipe out of their minds.’ At this stage dinner interrupted our talk and turned our minds to the sweet fatty well-roasted beef. When we were eating Ndungu told me that his section had 184 itungati of which four were girls. Two of them were very brave and had trapped a KAR man, killed him, and brought his gun to the forest. He also confirmed that all the girls in Kimbo’s and his section had been taught how to use any weapon. As Ndungu became busy in selecting itungati who would go to raid cattle in settlers’ farms, we ended our talk and I went in my tent to sleep. In this warm area there were many hyrax and their loud cries, almost similar to the gun’s burst, was the only poor is

to

music of the night.

The

following morning

persons.

My

two

assistants

we

Kimbo’s with some 150 were directed to the other two camps. A set off for

group of 40 itungati was left in that camp so that they could raid cattle and follow us at Kimbo’s the following morning. We arrived at Kimbo’s in the afternoon and Ndungu’s itungati made their mbuci just the opposite bank of the same stream. As soon as the itungati finished clearing the

camp

site, I

started record-

and instructing their clerk. In the evening we prayed together; it was the beginning of a coalition management. While we were sitting around a burning fire warming, I reminded the leaders of the notices I had written to settlers some twelve days ago. After a long discussion, it was agreed that we must wait for Ndungu’s itungati who had gone to raid for cattle and then send ing their losses

4

out our scout three days after their arrival.

Heavy rain That night we

started pouring

and we dispersed

into our tents.

ate our dinner in darkness. Great flashes of lightning

frequently shone, followed by horrible thundrous noise. September

had begun and the heavy rain was clearing all the mist and saying goodbye to us. We were entering a fine sunny month. The rain poured throughout the night at intervals and continued the same the following day. At 9 in the morning we heard shots and

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

282

suspected that our itungati were fighting against the cattle trackers.

This was quite

At one o’clock half of our itungati arrived with

true.

37 head of cattle. They told us that they managed to drive almost a hundred head of cattle from a big herd grazing in the bushes

about half an hour before sunset. ‘We noted that we would be seen driving them to the

forest,’

one gitungati, ‘and so we herded them until it was dark. We then commenced our journey. Inside the forest we several times said

came

across

large

herds of buffaloes and charging rhinos that

about thrice the cattle we have. Heavy rain had become another obstacle. We decided to make fire and guard our cattle until morning. In the morning we dispersed the cattle. In this

way we

our plunder,

20

drove

trackers just

leaving

where we had

we were far ‘How is your

but

slept.

lost

ambush the cattle Later on we heard them fighting itungati

to

away.’ track?

Can

the enemies follow

it

up here?’ queried

Kimbo. ‘Oh no!’ replied the gitungati. ‘Since they were fought they cannot come any further. Moreover, they would find the lost cattle and return with them claiming that they have beaten Mau Mau and got the cattle back. In addition to that we hid our footmarks well and in some cases exposed our footmarks to buffaloes’ tracks which they would follow.’ Meanwhile all itungati were busy killing the cattle, but instead of removing the hides they would cut pieces of meat with the hide. The hide had become a good cover and could be eaten during food scarcity. Kimbo ordered the guard commandant to post some strong sentries about five miles from the camp on the cattle track who were to keep watch until six in the evening. At 7 p.m. all the guards arrived and reported of their fight with the Kenya Ng’ombe. They could not tell any detail of casualties on the other side but believed that their first firing must have knocked some Kenya Ng’ombe down. That night we enjoyed fresh meat.

For the next

five days, I

continued

my work

and was rejoined by my assistants. I told them that we had to finish our work within two days and start our journey to Murang’a on the 12th September. The same evening our scouts returned saying that all cattle had been moved some 20 or 25 miles from the forest edge. Many homes within the region of five miles had been deserted. Govern-

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS

283

had been posted to guard some homes. A few homes at different centers had kept cattle as baits at their strong centers. 7 here was no other work done on those farms apart from herding

ment

forces

livestock.

we

raid

When

they

any of those homes?’ asked Gen. Kimbo. ‘No,’ replied one of the scouts. ‘The owners and their families have gone away with their belongings, but most of them have joined the KPR [Kenya Police Reserve] and returned; their duty is to guard these homes and farms. They do not sleep inside the houses but they keep ambushing us outside throughout the night. We learned from Gakuu’s scouts that those who guard livestock sleep right inside the herd and that those guarding merino sheep wore sheep skins. When Gakuu’s itungati approached, the sheep ran away from them leaving behind the armed forces in sheeps’ ‘Could

skins.

opened to raid

We

moved

killing

lire,

any place talked

remaining sheep, the sheep seven and capturing four. It is quite dangerous

unless

to catch the

it is

much about

well spied.’

the enemy’s tactics, finally

my

suggestion

was accepted of spoiling their water pumps and using the water pipes for making guns. We also agreed to destroy all the bridges that were in use near the forest and to cut down wire fences and telegraph

The

[lines].

following day some 250 itungati

returned they brought 16

had successfully fulfilled had hidden the pipes far pipes could

make

left for

the raid.

When

they

wagon bullocks and reported that they what they were required to do. They away in the forest and guessed that the

10,000 guns.

We

completed our work on the four sections and arranged to start for Murang’a on 12 September. The following morning special prayers for our journey were made, after which we started our journey comprised of twelve itungati including Lieutenant Kam-

wamba, armed with

six

rifles.

My

carrier,

Gicuki Hinga and

Mathitu my assistant asked permission to remain there. Though I was given another carrier, I couldn’t get another assistant. The

Government rarely contacted those gangs. They had plenty and life seemed smooth to them.

We

decided to

We

to eat

make our way through bushes bordering moving due

the

At about 10 o’clock we crossed the river Amboni (Honi). I noticed a swarm of bees moving to and fro over an old fallen log. We paused to see whether we Moorlands.

started

south.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

284

We

must be an old home of bees and might have honey. We made fire and split the log. To our surprise we collected a lot of honey that increased our luggage. At midday we were about to cross the Nyeri-Kabage road. About a mile’s distance we could see an enemy’s camp, [made up of could get honey.

agreed that

it

who were constructing the road. I took out my binoculars to enable me to see clearly. I saw one tank, three armored cars, two lorries, a Land Rover and two tractors. There were as many as those]

group of KARs and Home Guards were guarding some civilians who were clearing some small clusters of bushes. We had to go a bit deeper inside the forest to avoid contact with these thirty tents; a

enemies. After passing them

we

returned to the open grassland.

At three we crossed the Kiondongoro road and then the Charangatha River on an old bridge on the Nyeri-Kinangop foot track. Soon we arrived at Karari’s Hill where we found large herds of buffaloes and their families grazing. We stopped and discussed about the animals. We resolved that though it was very cold it was possible to graze milk cattle and sheep for wool. The grass growing around and some wheat seeds which had been dropped by our warriors were a fair proof that wheat could do well in the altitude of 10,000 feet.

We made

up our minds to search for Kigumo sections on Karari’s Hill on the steep side descending to the Gura River. By five o’clock we crossed the Gura River just below its big waterfall.

We

started climbing the steep slopes in the thicket of the tall

bamboos. Our progress became

come

we were

tired

and had not

was six o’clock when we arrived whose branches had become a nice rain proof dwelling. We cleared the pigs’ dung and en-

across other fighters tracks. It

at a big

and

difficult;

pondo

tree

base a pig’s

its

camped

there for the night. After prayers,

we

warmed Though we did

roasted meat,

water and diluted our honey which we drank. not make our tents, we spent a warm night. The following day we continued our journey changing our direction due east at Muthuri’s Hill. We were very much surprised to see that the there.

to

Being afraid

southeast,

visited

many

to follow the road,

heading for old

we

camps

Mumwe

that

I

vehicle road as far as

we changed our

camps.

On

knew and found

our that

direction

arrival, all

we

had been

could not find any recent tracks. In the evening, encamped near the forest edge.

deserted, but

we

Government had made a new

TOURING THE FOREST GAMPS As we were eating dinner,

morrow we

shall

move

told

I

my

southwards,’

comrades I

said,

my

‘right

285 plans. ‘To-

across

the

hope we shall be able to find other fighters’ tracks from the reserves which would lead us to their camp. We shall then be able to get a guide to the nearest Murang’a camp where we would be given a guide to Karuri Ngamune. The five days we have are enough to meet Kimathi on the 18th Kariaini gardens, where

I

September.’ After our morning prayers

we continued our

journey.

When

we came to the Kariaini vehicle road that was used for transporting camphor timber, we found that much weed had grown on the road but some people had passed along

it

previously.

We

followed

At midday we found a great deal of ripe strawberries on either side of the road. My comrades became interested in the berries and started eating, talking loud to one another. We were suddenly stopped and dispersed by Sten gun fire at very the road.

We

were forced to make our paths through the thicket of berries which scratched our faces, hands and feet. When we stopped running, I found that I had only two armed warriors and two carriers. We sat down for lunch and in great silence listened whether we could hear our comrade’s signal or movement. Though we didn’t hear them, we didn’t think that we could have suffered any casualties for the great bushes preclose

range

in

front of us.

vented the enemy from seeing

we crossed When we came

In the afternoon see

any

stream

tracks.

now

us.

the Kariaini gardens, but failed to to the river Thuti,

we walked down

searching for a crossing point of our fighters. Luckily,

which foot marks were cleverly hidden. We followed it and to our surprise we entered a small camp on the bank of a very small tributary. There was a rectangular kitchen and four other small circular huts. Though there was nobody in the camp w e could see fire well covered and believed that that must be one of the komerera’s mbuci. We thought that they had gone to hide themselves and that they may run away if they see us. We therefore decided to wait for them in the camp. In the evening, their scout came to spy whether the enemies had seen their camp. When he saw us, he started running away. I shouted for him to come back. He halted and asked me who I was. I told him my name. He came and we shook hands. He told me that he knew me when I addressed them at H.Q. Kariaini. He told

we saw a

r

track in

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

286

me

that there were

leader.

He

me

told

other itungati including Thogithi their

21

day hiding far away the enemy dispersed them at H.Q. He

that they always spent the

from the mbuci since

signaled for the others to come.

They came

carrying firewood.

After exchanging greetings, some went to their store where they

had potatoes and arrowroots

to

keep them only two more days

according to the storekeeper’s report. These black, weak fighters had only one rifle and four banda with two bullets for each.

They admiringly looked

my

at us.

We

looked very healthy and

fat.

them some meat so that each could have a bite. We told them of our journey and their leader told me they had broken away from H.Q. when it was captured by the enemy. When I asked him whether he knew where the big camps could be, he replied that there were no big camps in Kariaini area. ‘Mathenge split them into small groups of about twenty people so I

ordered

carrier to give

we can be able to hide our tracks.’ ‘Do you know where Mathenge’s mbuci

that

‘Yes,’ replied

Thogithi,

‘it

is

is?’ I

asked.

at Karunga.’

‘Where is Karunga?’ I asked. ‘Just on this ridge, less than an hour’s walk. I will take you there tomorrow,’ promised Thogithi. ‘What important raids have you made since I left?’ I enquired. ‘When did you leave?’ demanded Thogithi. ‘Today makes it exactly a month.’ ‘We have made no raid at all. It became difficult to raid cattle, but we could manage to get one or two rams that are being fattened in the homes of those who have not yet shifted to the new villages. Our chief food now is potatoes, arrowroots, raw bananas, sweet potatoes or any other crop growing in the gardens. Last week we started eating raw maize from the Muhuru region. I am planning that we will all go for maize tomorrow.’ ‘Would you leave the camp empty?’ I asked. ‘Unless we have a sick person we would all go,’ replied Thogithi. The boiled mixture of potatoes and arrowroots was ready and was served for our dinner, after which I went to my tent to sleep. In the morning after prayers, I noted that they had thrown away the system of posting sentries and became disgusted by those komereras. I asked Thogithi why he had not posted guards. He replied that it was absolutely useless to post unarmed persons as sentries. I warned him that the enemies may enter their mbuci

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS during their absence as

them

all.

I

we had done

the previous day

advised him to keep guards

or quietly run to inform the others that

287 and trap

who could blow a whistle the camp had been seen by

the enemy.

We trees

behind the camp in the black coniferous with no undergrowth. Layers of dry leaves had been shed by then climbed up

hill

making it impossible for the foot marks or tracks to be Here in an open space they generally spent the day eagerly

those trees seen.

looking for the sun to

We east.

left

We

warm

them.

camp heading to Mathenge’s mbuci and moved due soon came to an open space which showed that a few the

my eyes Home Guard

people used to spend the day there. Casting reserve

I

could see

than two miles’ crow

‘How

Kamanda (Kihome) fly built

kamatimo

are the

onto the Post

less

on Mahiga-Othaya boundary.

in that post?’

I

asked.

‘They are very cruel,’ replied Thogithi. ‘The European officer in the camp, nicknamed Kibithi (literally, the hairy skin of the buttocks), is a mad man. He has collected the village boys aged between 14 and 16, supplied them with a brown-green uniform, fed them well, supplied them with European beer and bhangi [a drug], and has trained them how to use every kind of weapon. He uses these audacious children as his soldiers to fight in the forest and in the reserve. During the night they dress like ourselves and knock at the doors of our wives or mothers. Once they are in, they quickly ask for food and money and claim that they have been sent by the known local forest leaders. They ask for the names of the Home Guards who are troubling the civilians and whom they would like to see exterminated. ‘Having trapped our wives and parents these foolish youths, under the influence of alcohol, monetary rewards and the good treatment they receive, either shoot and burn them

in their

houses

and pretend a fight with Mau Mau outside, opening fire and blowing whistles and shouting, or beat them till they confess, after which they are prosecuted or detained. These boys make fun when they point out a tree, a dog, a cow, a sheep or a

man

to be their target.

one another and then laugh praising the hero. They eat livestock of their choice and ‘Eei ni muru wa Njama?’ interjected Mathenge not far away. Hello Mr. Mathenge, I am glad to meet you ‘Yes, it’s me

Sometimes they

fight with

guns and

kill

.’

.

!

again.*

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

288

Mr. Njama?’ requested Mathenge, leaning on foot man-head-carved walking staff.

‘How five ‘I

his

are you,

am very well,’

‘And how

is

replied.

I

your journey?’ asked Mathenge.

‘Not very bad,’

replied, ‘with the exception that

I

my

itungati

were dispersed yesterday at midday by enemies on that road yonder.’

moved to greet his itungati including his kabatuni. Then Mathenge called me to go sit at a private place where we could catch a little warmth from the morning sun. I started telling him I

of

my

journey to

Mwathe and

all

that

had happened

at

Mwathe

General Meeting. ‘Your

Mathenge

report,’ said

smilingly, ‘confirms

much

of

what

Kabuga had told me, but his itungati generally described the whole matter of Mwathe as being “the mbuci of great discipline and hunger.”

’

‘That might be

true,’ I replied.

‘You know

how

difficult

it

is

to

ration food for nearly 5,000 itungati .’

Mathenge remarked the meeting as a great success, beyond his estimation and that Kimathi had greatly benefited from his absence in the meeting. I reminded him that I had forewarned him. ‘Though Kimathi has been officially established as the head of all

the warriors,’

deputy for

many

I

said,

‘no person has been pointed out as his

people have your

name

in their

minds for that

post.’

‘What rank were you given?’ demanded Mathenge. ‘I wasn’t given any rank,’ I replied. ‘Shall I be given a rank by Kimathi?’ queried Mathenge

dis-

contentedly.

‘The Kenya Defense Council, of which you are a member, will decide your rank; but you must remember that the qualification for ranks are based on personal activities and capa‘No,’ I replied.

bility

and not according

‘Yes, I

now

to one’s wish.’

agree,’ said

Mathenge,

‘that a

group of people

is

Your speech now will make me bide you passed at Mwathe. I had been thinking that

wiser than the wisest man.

with

all

that

Kimathi dictated all that he wanted.’ ‘Oh no!’ I replied. ‘If you want

you better accompany me to Karuri Ngamune in Murang’a where another leaders’ meeting will be held in which reports from our armies to confirm

this

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS

289

would be heard. The meeting will commence on 9 September, three days more. I would be very glad if you could send your itungati to Mumwe and Kigumo camps to find out whether my itungati who were dispersed yesterday might be in any of those camps. If they are found they would be better directed here.’ ‘I will try and send out some itungati ,’ said Mathenge, ‘as you requested, but I do not think that it would be possible for you to get to the meeting. I would like to go with you but I am not prepared. You see it is bad to start such a safari without sufficient food. Right now none of us knows where any of the Murang’a mbuci is situated; and if we went and missed their mbuci we would then use our food before we could return here.’ ‘That is why I demanded my itungati ,’ I said. ‘Four of them carried nothing but safari food, mostly dried meat and fried fat crisps.’ I

called

on

my

food carrier and asked him to give us a

and warned him that that was the only food we

all

little

had

meat

to take

us to the meeting.

meat must have come from the Rift Valley,” said Mathenge admiringly. ‘Which part of the Rift Valley did you visit after leaving Mwathe?’ I told him how we remained in the Mwathe camp and how we were bombed; our safari across the Moorlands to Kimbo’s mbuci my visit to Ndungu’s camp and the camp life of the itungati who ‘This

;

emphasized the itungati there were very fat; that they had plenty of meat, all the excess of which they dried and stored. I told him that the enemy have never found any of their camps, that the only contact with Government would lived

in

Nderagwa

area.

I

be only a planned raid or ambush.

I

told

him how

settlers

had

behind their livestock. Mathenge became very much interested and decided that he would spend Christmas in the Rift Valley. He told me that most quit, leaving

had gone to Rift Valley as I had suggested and that there were fifteen mbuci of about twenty itungati each living in Kariaini. He told me that his camp had thirteen itungati

of the

Ituma

itungati

including his kabatuni. I

asked him where those camps were situated and he told

that they were very near.

We

set off for

a

from those mbuci met. ‘Why haven’t you raided that Kamanda

common

me

place where

itungati

Home Guard

Post?’

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

290

asked, pointing at the post.

‘I

have been told of

its

cruelty

and

by Thogithi.’ ‘We would very much like to destroy that horrible institution but we have run short of ammunition. The little we have spared would be used for means of living only. It has become difficult for us to get food from the reserve unless we fight for it, even from brutality

the gardens.’

We

arrived at a place which those

Many

mbuci used

as their

meeting

them were lying on their backs exposing themselves to the sun. They stood up for Mathenge and they were surprised to see me. After exchanging greetings, we all sat down. I was glad to meet Kihara Kagumu, Gicuki Mugo, Elijah Kihara Gatandi and Kibira Gatu and many other leaders. Mathenge asked those leaders to point out some itungati who would go to search my lost itungati at Mumwe and Kigumo camps. I drafted a letter to the leader who might be keeping them in his mbuci and handed it over to the itungati. We asked the itungati to return the following day place.

of

with their report. I

spent the rest of the day repeating

In the evening,

I

went with

my

my

story to those leaders.

four itungati to Mathenge’s mbuci.

saw a rectangular kitchen and two other warriors’ huts roofed by mahindu leaves of a banana family plant. These are waterproof when they are green and untom, but when they dry up they wrinkle and shrink and become torn and then leak. My tent was pegged a little farther from Mathenge’s and my itungati were accommodated in the two huts. Mathenge used to warm himself in the kitchen and so we both went to warm ourselves in the kitchen. I criticized him and pointed out that he should have a private fire even though he was the only leader in the camp and enjoyed the I

company

of others in the kitchen.

We

were served with two maize cobs well roasted while some other maize was being boiled. I asked my itungati to give out some meat so that each could have a bite, after which we slept. The following day the messengers arrived at ten in the morning reporting my itungati were all safe and had slept the night before

Kabuga’s camp, which was situated at the sources of Mumwe stream. I read a letter from Kabuga telling me that my eight itungati lead by Kamwamba left his mbuci on the previous day, at

returning to Kimbo’s.

Having no food nor guide

to

Murang’a, with only a day before

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS

2gi

was then impossible for me to get to the meeting and so I abandoned my safari. For the rest of September I remained with Mathenge, entering data already collected by his clerk, Ndung’u Mathenge. During my stay there, no raid took place. Our warriors were bush harvesting maize from Muhuru region and storing for the future use. The Home Guards, Devons, Police and KAR troops spent the nights in the maize fields ambushing our fighters. In most cases our warriors met death while looking for food rather than in battlefields. Neverthe meeting started,

theless, there

it

were so

enemy were not

many

gardens

all

over the country that the

them all. Our fighters were very good at spying and detecting the enemy through hearing, a nervous [i.e., intuitive] sense of danger and smelling. The latter sense had grown strong in such a way that our warriors could smell the enemy at more than 200 yards away; notably soap and any form of tobacco. I left Mathenge in the first week of October, guided by his itungati to Kabuga’s mbuci. On our arrival at Kabuga’s mbuci able to cover

,

we were astonished to find it so badly ruined by the foe. Luckily, we were seen by four itungati who had come to spy whether the enemy had gone, so that they could get food from the camp store, and whether the hidden camp utensils had been seen by the enemy. They told us that great calamity had befallen their camp. One and worry, said ‘On the previous day, the on us in this camp, killing two of our fighters

of them, in great fear

enemy opened

fire

and injuring four

:

others.

When we

ran

away with our casualties, a site for our new camp.

we arrived at a place where we selected The girls were sent to cut ithanji reeds for thatching our huts in a swampy open area. The girls had spread some clothes in that open area to dry. Then four Harvards which were passing over our heads saw the girls and their clothes and quickly unloaded their bombs on us. We all ran away from that area but four fighters, including a girl and our leader Kabuga, were injured by the bomb shells. Kabuga and another gitungati were both slightly injured at their right forearm.

new camp and a hospital that evening. Yesterday afternoon, the enemy forces arrived at the bombing area in order to assess how many people they had killed. They did not find any ‘We

built a

them

where they finished off four of the patients. Two of the patients survived and came to our camp because they knew where it was. We then corpses but the blood

trail led

into our hospital

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

292

moved

into a

new camp near

the sources of the Thuti River.

have run short of food and have

That

assed moves.

is

enemies saw our food

‘We mbutu

believe that

lost

much

why we had come store,

women

We

property in those harto

check whether the

but for good luck, they didn’t see it.’ have brought all this calamity to our

commented another gitungati. ‘Last week, Kiruthi Gikuri abducted a woman named Wamu who was only recently married to Kamotho, the great witchdoctor in Mahiga Location.

We

(group),’

suspect that

[trouble]

would be the punishment

inside our

‘That

we might be bewitched by Kamotho

is

camp

or else that

for our intercourse with

women

against the taboos.’

a very sad report,’

I

commented, shaking

‘Do you have any more food

in the store that

my

head.

we can

help you

carry?’ ‘Yes,’ replied the third gitungati ,

introducing himself as Kanji,

the storekeeper.

We

and carried as much maize as we could. We then moved direct west and arrived at the camp at 4 o’clock. Here, I was glad to meet Kabuga. His wound had been smeared with M.B. 760 powder [a form of aspirin] and left unall

went

to the store

dressed according to his personal advice.

why he had

son Gathinji patient it

who

difficult to

didn’t

know

I

asked his assistant Harri-

allowed himself to be directed by a

better than him.

He

replied that he found

argue with his leader.

I

instructed

Kabuga on

I

remained

in the

wound. I told him how dirt and germs are dangerous of infections by entering the body through wounds. I cleansed and dressed his wound. He then told me the whole story of his camp’s misfortune which confirmed all that I had been told by his itungati. He told me that Kiruthi Gikuri was to be tried the following day for abducting the wife of Kamotho the witchdoctor, who might have cursed all the camp’s calamity. Wamu, the woman concerned, had been in that mbuci for a week. When Kiruthi heard the camp’s gossip was full of anger and disappointment with him, he ran away into the reserves where he was arrested and detained. I stayed in the camp for a week collecting all the necessary data. I then went to Ngara’s mbuci situated at Gacamba Hill, which is separated from Karari’s Hill by a deep valley in which the river Charangatha flows. the necessity of covering a

camp

for a

week

collecting data

from about

— TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS my

293

camp I thrice went fishing, since about two dozen people were always down at the Gura River fishing under the leadership of Gacungi Waicahi. The fish were not rationed, though they could catch as many as 300 in a day, for there were some who did not eat fish. [Fish were not a part of the 150 warriors. During

traditional

On

Kikuyu

diet.]

day

the second

stay in this

of

my

stay in the

camp, the itungati who

had gone to harvest maize brought a report that a missing girl, Gathoni Wagege, had decided to surrender and on her way to the reserve

—having cunningly passed

the

camp guards by

deviation

met the enemy about two miles from the guards point and was shot dead. The guards waited for the enemies at their ambush but the enemies didn’t come.

The

midday the enemy, who had followed a well-worn track to the mbuci unknowingly fell into our guards’ ambush. They exchanged fire some five minutes after which the enemy retreated without causing any casualties to our following day at about

,

fighters.

The following day one gitungati named Ngatho Kio arrived in the camp from Gilgil. He said that he had spent three days all alone and without food or

fire.

He

komerera on the small bushes of leadership of Kirigu stealing a

cow

could not fight

said

Gilgil

that about

rocky areas,

two dozen under the

Ikinya Theuri, were badly dispersed after

one of the neighboring farms. He said that they the enemy and they were in great danger of being

in

cordoned by the foe

in the

small lelishwa bushes which are sur-

0

rounded by miles of grasslands and settlers’ homes. ‘Why did you go there?’ I asked him. ‘We had gone there,’ replied Ngatho, ‘in order to avoid this horrible bombing and frequent contacts with the enemy. Since our fighters go to raid cattle so far from the forest, they [i.e., the cattle] are not guarded at all. We would then enter the cattle pen and select one of the very fat bullocks and slaughter it inside the pen

and each gitungati carries as much meat as he can. We would then move some five miles and roast meat that would last us three days and then walk some five miles and hide ourselves near a settler’s home in very small bushes a place where the enemy would hardly think of. They would then try to search for us in any of the nearest forests. Though we could manage to hide in this way, there is no hope of surviving whenever our hideout is found by the foe.’

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

294

saw Kirigu now, I would just shoot him,’ said Ngara angrily. ‘You see, Mr. Njama, that man ran away with 35 of my itungati and you hear that he has now taken them to be slaughtered by the merciless Kenya Ng’ombe.’ ‘How many were you when you were attacked?’ demanded ‘If

I

Ngara.

‘We were

24’, replied the

frightened gitungati.

‘Where were the other 1 1 itungati ?’ queried Ngara. ‘They had been killed within the two contacts we had with the

Kenya Ng’ombe,’ replied Ngatho shamefully. ‘How many enemies has your gang killed?’ asked Ngara. ‘None,’ replied Ngatho.

‘How many head pen?’

‘We

of cattle

do you

kill

when you

enter in a cattle

asked.

I

kill

only one for

we cannot

carry

more than

that,’

answered

Ngatho.

‘What other

losses

has your gang inflicted to the enemy?’

I

asked. ‘None,’ replied Ngatho.

‘And

for

how

long have you been there?’

‘Almost two and a half months

I

asked.

.’ .

.

‘Shut up!’ interrupted Ngara angrily. ‘You are one of those

who came

to hide

and

fill

your

bellies.

I

am

sure

you

will all

perish.’

‘Ngatho, you have become a

silly idiot,’ I said,

shaking

my

head.

and you do not know what you came to do here. I would advise you to remain under the leadership of recognized leaders who would show you what service you would render to our country. Do you understand ‘You can neither help yourself nor anyone

else

me?’ ‘Yes,’ said ‘If

said, little

Ngatho.

you had killed all the cattle in all the pens you had visited, I ‘you would have struck the enemy a heavy blow. There is difference between destroying property or the owner. That

property

is

his strength.

His heart

is

with his property.’

you knew where the others were I would have you lead us there now. You have not been serving the country since you left me you have been foolishly serving yourselves. Do you under‘If

—

stand?’ shouted Ngara. ‘Yes,’ replied

the humiliated gitungati.

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS ‘Then don’t do

it

Though Ngara

criticised

again

!’

295

concluded Ngara.

Ngatho, he himself had become a weak the camp’s management. He had allowed many itungati

leader in

mbuci as they desired. He himself had ordered Wakarima, daughter of Manyara, to be brought to him so that she would become his third wife. Some itungati had refused to carry food from the reserve for nearly thirty women, other men’s wives, who were in the mbuci. They had suggested that each gitungati was responsible to carry his wife’s food and that those who had no women would no longer share their food to these women. That led to the dissolution of the camp store, [which was] replaced by indito abduct girls to the

vidual or group stores with individual or group kitchens respec-

Each gitungati on arrival from fetching food, which they did cooperatively, had to give his leader two big size tins full of maize which he took in his store which was managed by his assistants, Githinji Ngecu and Ndeithi Kinyua, the Guard Commantively.

dant.

A

who

was dangerous to get food from the reserves had started trapping animals and birds and fishing, thus getting their food right there in the forest and group of some cowards

thought that

it

no need any more of going out of the forest. I discussed the matter with Ngara, criticised and pointed out his failures and the dangers that would result. I told him that he was unknowingly leading the worst type of komerera gang I had ever to

them

there was

met.

He all his

felt

that

itungati

ing their

own

him and started proving to me that obeyed him and that they were capable of manag-

I

had

affairs.

‘Your acceptance to

camp

He

affairs

insulted

is

[i.e.,

your greatest

then went on telling

allowing] your itungati to failure,’ I

manage

their

remarked.

how he had

discussed the matter with

and had failed to solve the problem of the women in the camp or to stop more from coming. I told him the rules we had passed at Mwathe on behalf of the women. He replied that Mathenge had warned him and some other leaders not to obey those rules passed by Kimathi and his friends in the absence of Mathenge, the elected leader of Ituma Ndemi Army. his itungati

him that I had been with Mathenge for a fortnight in his mbuci and had cleared all his doubts. In fact, that Mathenge had I

told

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

296

appreciated and accepted

all

that

was passed

at

Mwathe General

Meeting.

Ngara agreed with me but found it very had agreed to in the discussion with his

what he He was afraid

difficult to alter

itungati.

that his itungati might revolt against him.

proposed to him to move to the Rift Valley with all his itungati where he could conduct a cattle raid. I told him that if his section could bring a herd of cattle so that everyone would have plenty to I

he would then be able to reorganize the camp store and common kitchen without any opposition. He promised that he would move to the Rift Valley within a week’s time. On 29 October I left the camp for Chania to meet Kimathi. Of eat,

the four itungati

We

I

had, none

know

the whereabouts of the

Chania

on tracking them. After crossing the Kiandongoro road, we turned east until we came to Kiandongoro Forest Station, where we saw KAR troops on guard. We quickly changed our direction due north and started descending the Chania steep slopes. At two in the afternoon, we arrived at the river Chania mbuci.

had

rely

to

where our warriors used

to cross the river

on a

fallen log.

One

of

we should not cross the river on that enemy used to ambush our fighters there and would

the itungati suggested that log because the

not open

fire until

Daniel, was killed

We

our warriors were on the log. ‘Kimathi’s brother, right here on this log,’ concluded the gitungati.

then turned due west up the river and followed an old track

At sunset we were climbing the Mutangariua Hill and had not noticed any sign of a camp, but we were certain that

of our fighters.

the track led to one of our fighters’ camps.

some bamboo

clusters

amongst the black

We made

our camp in At night we could

forest.

on the opposite slope across the river. We heard a gun shot which we were certain had been exploded by the owners of that fire. We suspected that it might be the enemy’s camp fire

see a fire burning

and

so

The uphill

we covered our

fires

facing their direction.

we

followed the track

into Brig.

Gen. Kahiu-Itina’s

following morning, after prayers,

and

at nine

we had

fallen

They laughed at us when I told them where we had slept. They told us that we were only about one and a half miles from the camp and that we could have reached the camp if we knew. When I told them of the fire we had seen, they told us that the fire was in Gen. Nyaga’s mbuci where Kimathi stayed. They added that Kimathi had left their camp at four on the previous day. We guards.

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS left

the guards and entered the camp.

Itina,

I

was glad

to

297

meet Kahiu-

Ndiritu Thuita and his brother, Dr. King’ori, a qualified

and Kibuku Theuri, the Muthuaini sub-location organizer. Kahiu-Itina told me of their Murang’a-Kiambu safari. He told me that though they had reached Locations 1 and 2, just at the boundary of Murang’a and Kiambu, they did not see any Kiambu fighters; but they sent their scouts both in the forest and the reserve. The former reported that there were no Kiambu warriors in the Nyandarua forest, while the latter reported that the Kiambu elders kept control of their itungati and had stopped them from fighting in the reserve. Nevertheless, some small komerera gangs under General Waruingi were still operating in Kiambu reserve.

dresser,

The

Kiambu disobeyed the elders’ boycott and moved from Kiambu to the Rift Valley under

ex-Rif t Valley persons of

on the fight Gen. Joseph Kibe Kimani. Their sections were on Mt. Longonot and Suswa Hill. Others were in Melili forest in the Mau Escarpment under Gen’s. Kibutu and Ole Kisio. Some went as far as Narok in Masailand, while a few of them were stationed at

call

Naivasha.

‘When we heard all that,’ said Gen. Kahiu-Itina, ‘Kimathi wrote a letter to the Kiambu elders telling them we believed Kiambu was the leading district and we had honourably named its army as Kenya Inoro Army. It was a pity, [he wrote] to see that instead of their leadership, as

independence. leaders

and

We

We

we

expected, they were helping to delay our

promised them that we would supply them with

instructors until their

army was

strong enough to lead

our supplies from Nairobi were coming through Murang’a instead of Kiambu, which was itself.

nearer the

complained

in that letter that

forest.’

Kahiu-Itina and his colleagues

left

me

alone in the hut and

attended a report from a returning gang which had been sent to the reserve. It

had been dispersed by the

foe, losing

two and two

others injured.

was very much disappointed with the news. Kiambu, the most advanced and educated district, seemed to have abandoned the revolt, I thought. Likewise, all the educated people had not fully I

supported the

fighters,

not one

who

equalled

my own

education.

I

began to wonder why they had not joined the fight. ‘Could they all be cowards? Or is it because they hated the hard forest life, or do they think that we should not fight for our land and freedom, or

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

298

did they wish to get the

illiterate

peasants into the fight and expect

to reap the harvest thereof while during the fight they stood as

onlookers

who would

fit

These thoughts puzzled ‘Jomo Kenyatta and

themselves well into the winning side?’

me

for a time.

same consequence, [I thought]. The Kenya African Union leaders and all the top country leaders who are in detention camps are classified in the same category with the fighters. Peter Mbiyu Koinange, the most educated African in Kenya and our delegate to the British Government on our land and freedom claim, has not abandoned our aim. It is only the white collar, the tie tie men who work for the Europeans, who have become spectators or European helpers. Their percentage in the country is very small, and they can do little harm to the country, but the biggest blow now would be lack of leadership. The Kiambu people are the originators of the oath and all the ideas behind the it is

his colleagues are suffering the

Movement; why should they surrender when

red hot? Wouldn’t they like to harvest the fruit they planted?’

There are four Kikuyu sayings that answered *

Kiriti gitigunaga

[i.e.,

the one

who

muni first

3 .

my

questions.

(‘The land does not benefit the pioneer’

acquires

‘

it.])

Murimi

tiwe murii

3

(‘He

cultivates does not always reap the harvest.’) ‘Hia ciukaga

t

who

hut ha

3

na igakira matu (‘Though the horns grow after the ears, they are 3 longer.’ And, ‘Maari mbere macokire thutha (‘Those who were in front, turned out to be the last.’) .

The Kiambu mystery was not unique the old sayings settled my problems. ‘Why should I keep myself worried about Kiambu District while there are many other districts which don’t bother themselves with the Kenya freedom but who would be the first to ;

enjoy that freedom? Never mind,’

I

said to myself, ‘Jesus Christ

died alone to save the world’s people from sins

— He freed

all

the

by his blood. Our blood, we who have volunteered, will free Kenya from colonial slavery and exploitation.* Kahiu-Itina and Ndiritu returned. ‘Are you all alone, Mr. Njama?’ asked Kahiu-Itina. ‘Yes, I have been tackling the Kiambu problem and I resolved that we must try and get them to aid us and if we failed we should people from the

go on, for

I

sins’

our volunteered itungati were well equipped to fight for Kenya.’

think

they are sufficient

slavery

if

‘You are quite correct, Mr. Njama,’ said Ndiritu. ‘We cannot get everybody to join in the fight, but we demand everybody’s help.

TOURING THE FOREST CAMPS Jomo Kenyatta and Kiambu.

for

It

a sufficient army to fight

his colleagues are

mundo mugo

a wonder that

isn’t

299

ndari

ngumo his own

rugongo rwake. (That a medicine man is not as famous in region as he is in others.)’ ‘Don’t be surprised,’ remarked Kahiu-Itina, ‘for we have seen that instead of Kiambu people fighting for Kenyatta, they became witnesses to convict

him

!’

then told them

my

puzzling thoughts

alone in the hut and

we

spent

I

It

was

not

much

when

my

friends, as

I

left

me

time discussing the same thing.

thought that

it

my mind

which I did might frighten them and

at this time that a thought flashed in

tell

they had

endanger our position. I remembered that the educated persons had learned the history of the British wars. They had the knowledge of the colonial forces and powers. They believed that since we were neither armed nor trained it would be suicide to take a panga against a rifle, machine gun, jet bomber or the Lincoln bombers which had been demonstrated to them either in army propaganda films or newspapers during the Second World War.

—

The

knowledge caused many educated men to the white man. On the other hand, the ignorance peasants of the enemy’s power was our warriors’

fear born out of this

seek security in of the illiterate

strength and courage.

Thinking introducing

how

the

it

unwise to continue the topic,

my

desire to

enemy had

thus causing

my

dispersed

camps the

I

had

I

told

I

had

them how

at

off

by

I

told

them

all

most of which were very

had carried on that Gathitu left

it

Ngamune and told on the way at Kariaini,

the meeting.

visited, I

dropped

Karuri

itungati

They told me camp and had

visited.

data in that

my

failure to attend

about the various camps disappointing.

meet them

I

for

my

job in

had

all

the

collected all

Nyaga’s mbuci with

Kimathi on the previous day. I asked them how I could get there. Kahiu-Itina replied that it was only forty- five minutes walk to get there. He advised me to write a letter to Kimathi telling him

would be going there the following day so that he could make the necessary arrangements and appointment of receiving me. I wrote the letter and gave it to Ndiritu for dispatch. At six in the evening I received a reply from Kimathi saying that he expected me the following day before midday. I spent a night in that camp, whose buildings and management were very good. Kimathi had previously issued ranks to many that

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

300

camp. The ranks were respected and reflected real character. Each fireplace had a girl attendant who collected firewood, kept the fire burning and who was to be sent to and fro by the owners of the fire. These fires, which were lit in every hut, were grouped according to rank, [with the officers separate from the itungati in that

itungati.]

After dinner, songs and entertainments which amused people

continued for a long time. Ndiritu told

new

recruits

had been

who had

in that

to leave the

camp

‘One of them friend

who

me

that his

camp had

13

escaped from the Nyeri Prison and that they

mbuci

for three days.

That had caused Kimathi

for not trusting all of them.

Muthee

is

lived near

Gatero,’ said Kahiu-Itina, ‘your old

your Muthuaini school and supplied you with

milk.’

very

I

arrived,

much wanted to see him and he was called. When he we first talked about personal affairs and then I asked

He

said

that there were over five thousand detainees in Nyeri Prison

and

him whether

it

more than

that

was

possible to free the other prisoners.

side the prison building in tents

He

said there

yard

intervals.

accommodated sleeping outenclosed by a barbed wire fence.

three thousand were

were armed

He

sentries all along the fence at

twenty

said that the forest fighters could not succeed

in freeing the prisoners unless the prisoners

cooperated in the plan-

which was very dangerous for there were very many informers who had been detained for the purpose of collecting information and it was very likely that the plans would be known beforehand by the enemy. He added that the prison was in a very bad location. The 3rd and 26th KAR had encamped to surround the prison and the police H.Q. was only about 200 yards from the prison. It was right in the heart of the town and surrounded by European homes. We found it would be difficult to attack the prison so abandoned the talk. ning,

CHAPTER XVI

UNITY AND DIVISION Toward

the end of 1953 two events occurred which tended to reinforce the bonds of tribal unity among Aberdare guerrilla

groups.

Though

influence, there

Young

it

difficult to assess

is

is little

the magnitude of their

question that the formation of the

Stars Association

and the

New Year’s memorial

Kenya

ceremony

held at Ruthaithi lent themselves to a strengthening of those wider loyalties to tribe, Movement and country which held in

check certain divisive tendencies within the forest organizadon.

The Kenya Young

Stars Association, to the extent that

it

was

functioned as a group which cut across the various territorial forest groupings and hence tended to weaken the effective,

narrower sectional loyalties based upon leader-followers-locality ties. As a loosely organized association of all Aberdare guerrilla fighters, laying great stress on the historical role and importance of the forest revolutionaries, it was received with considerable enthusiasm by the gathering of over eight hundred fighters and

from various sections of the forest at the New Year’s Eve memorial ceremony. The ideas which gave rise to this association, and to its name, are very interesting from an ideological standpoint. They reveal an important historical dimension not yet mentioned, an element which had as its central focus an almost urgent desire that the exploits, struggles and sacrifices of the forest revolutionaries not be forgotten or undervalued by future Kikuyu and Kenya leaders

African generations. This of the discussion

is

clearly revealed in Karari’s account

which gave

birth to the

Kenya Young

Stars

Association.

The second important unifying event was the New Year’s Eve ceremony. Though difficulties in travel and communication kept attendance somewhat low, this was nevertheless the first general gathering of groups from the four Aberdare zones since the

Mwathe

meeting. As at

such forest gatherings, the collective participation in song, prayer and other activities tended to all

301

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

302

strengthen the bonds of Kikuyu unity and bolster the fighters’ morale. Again, since the gathering was attended by most of the

important members and officers of the Kenya Defense Council and held under the notable exception being Stanley Mathenge

—

tended to reaffirm the legitimacy, authority and continuity of the Council as the central forest institution. Perhaps it would be useful at this point to indicate some of the strengths and frailties of the forest organization. As noted

its

auspices,

it

wider and more inclusive organization achieved through the fonnation of the Kenya Defense Council and military hierarchy was characterized, among other things, by a earlier,

the

power and authority. While the Kenya Defense Council had the power to formulate overall strategy and policy, enact rules and regulations and sit as the highest judicial body, the authority to implement and enforce its policies and rulings rested largely with the individual leadermembers or section and camp heads. Kenya Defense Council representatives, as we have seen, lacked the power to enforce decentralization of effective

the Council’s decisions, being limited in this regard to the use of their individual persuasive abilities. Again,

though Kimathi, as

Land and Freedom Army, could issue ranks and tactical directives, he could not effectively demand compliance from other important leaders in the military hierarchy. The latter, each commanding a personal following not dependent on Field Marshal of the

approval or legitimization from above, were in a position to withdraw their recognition of Kimathi’s authority at any time hence their continued support had to be solicited rather than

demanded. These features of decentralization reflected the voluntary nature of both membership in and recognition of the Kenya Defense Council, as well as the prior distribution of effective power among groups whose members were bound together by

Given this latter condition, the creation of a strong central institution would have been extremely difficult; it would have required a relatively large-scale reorganization of forest groupings and led almost certainly to a debilitating power struggle among competing forest leaders. Put another way, the relatively weak central council which emerged at Mwathe was advantageous since, without significantly altering the existing distribution of power strong leader-followers-locality

ties

and

loyalties.

UNITY AND DIVISION amongst the various of policies, rules

and

allowed for a considerable degree the latter in the planning and coordination

leaders,

among

of cooperation

303

it

tactics.

Another advantage of this decentralization lay in its allowing for a very high degree of flexibility of maneuver and individual initiative among the many forest sections. With rapid travel and communication made extremely difficult by the forest terrain, and military and logistic conditions necessitating the breakdown of the former large groups into smaller sections and sub-sections, it was important that each fighting unit achieve a considerable degree of self-sufficiency and that section leaders be in a position to make day-to-day decisions regarding tactics and the deployment of their men. But what of the frailties? First, the Kenya Defense Council, though continuing to function through the organizational work of Kimathi and its field secretaries or representatives, was seemingly unable to meet when the occasion demanded in order to consider changes in the overall mitilary situation, coordinate forces to exploit particular

enemy weaknesses

its

or endeavour to

reconcile differences of opinion or personal conflicts

among

its

members. While communications were sustained through letters and messengers and numerous meetings took place between individual leaders, no meetings of the whole Council were convened between August 1953 and the New Year’s Eve ceremony at Ruthaithi. Aside from the obvious difficulties of travel, the primary reason for this failure to meet lay in the broadly representative composition of the Council itself. Comprised of a large number of leaders, who were scattered widely over the forest at the head of their respective sections, the Council was simply too unwieldly to convene. Its officers, for the most part, were also attached to particular sections and no arrangements had been made at Mwathe for the establishment of a permanent headquarters

camp

or

staff.

Another frailty emerges when we look at the opposing principles at work in the council system and military hierarchy. The hierarchy of formal and informal councils, culminating in the

Kenya Defense

Council, involved the principle of participation in each council of all leaders under its jurisdiction. Again, at least implicitly, it involved the traditional principle of discussion and resolution

of

questions

through

consensus

of

opinion,

with

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

304

on the other hand, in which British army ranks were adopted, assumed a chain-of-command principle according to which orders from superior to subordinate officers were to be obeyed without quesunaiiimity being the objective.

The

military hierarchy,

tion or discussion.

here centered around two factors: (1) There was no clear-cut division of authority between the Kenya Defense Council and the military hierarchy headed by a Field

The

difficulties

Marshal; and (2) military ranks tended to parallel Council offices, with the President of the Kenya Defense Council, Dedan Kimathi, holding the highest military rank of Field Marshal, Stanley Mathenge, Chairman of the Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council, holding the rank of Commander of the Ituma Ndemi Army, etc. The problem thus arose as to whether, in particular situations, a leader was acting in his capacity as Council official or military officer, and, in the latter instance, whether his military rank justified the authority he had assumed. In concrete terms, as will be noted in Karari’s account, this confusion tended to breed conflict between certain key forest leaders. Kimathi’s ‘right’ to

resented

make certain decisions on his own was questioned and by Mathenge and certain other leaders who felt he was

acting beyond his authority

and without the necessary consent

of the Council. This source of conflict, as

we

shall see, increases

wears on. Related to the absence of adequate enforcement machinery, the inability of the Kenya Defense Council to control or exercise effective influence over subordinate or marginal komerera groups constituted a third frailty. This was perhaps most important in as the battle

respect to the relation of forest groups to peasant masses.

The

quest for food and other necessary supplies led to an increasing

number

of actions

by

guerrilla units

which tended to

alienate

the support of the peasantry, particularly those living as squatters on European farms. Though most of these actions involved

komerera-group thefts of civilian property, Karari’s account reveals that some, at least, of the recognized forest groups also engaged in this type of raid. A fourth frailty, already alluded to, lay in what might be called

vertical

pattern

into

which

effective

power and

were segmented. Based on the leader-followers-locality of the primary forest groupings (sections and sub-sections),

loyalty ties

the

UNITY AND DIVISION and the

305

segmentation of the Land and Freedom Armies, several key leaders e.g., Kimathi, Mathenge, Kahiuterritorial

—

—

Kimbo, Kimemia, Mbaria Kaniu commanded the personal support and allegiance of numerous lesser leaders and the fighting units in their respective forest spheres. With subordinate leaders and the sections they commanded bound by greater loyalties to individual leaders than to the Kenya Defense Council, the forest organization was faced with an inherent danger Itina,

that personal differences or conflicts between key leaders might result in its disintegration. And this danger was heightened by

the fact that his

no

particular

single leader territorial

closest to achieving

a

emerged who was able

to rise

above

Kimathi, who came detached position due to his

identification.

territorially

constant travels and organizational skills, was nevertheless considered a ‘Nyeri leader’ by leaders from other districts, and a ‘North Tetu man’ by the other Nyeri leaders.

In the chapters which follow, we shall be able to observe the unfolding of the several tendencies mentioned above.

The

following day,

November

1

st,

I

left

the

camp

and, accom-

panied by Kahiu-Itina and Ndiritu and ten itungati including the four

I

had, crossed the river Chania and climbed

its

steep slopes

on which Nyaga had built his mbuci. The guards had been informed of our visit and so we entered the camp easily. I learned that Kimathi had made a rule that no one was allowed to enter the camp he was living in without first being thoroughly inspected [i.e., searched] and could only see him at his consent. 1 here were only a few people in the mbuci as many had either gone to collect honey or to warm themselves by the sun’s heat. Those who were in stood for us and happily greeted us. Colonel Gitau Icatha received us well.

He

led us into the officers’ mess

where we rested while he informed Kimathi of our arrival. After a few minutes, Icatha came for us and led us to Kimathi’s office, about two hundred yards from the camp. We first met a dozen of Kimathi’s strong bodyguards, parading outside the office.

When

they were called to attention by their commandant, Nguthiru Ngumo, brother-in-law of Kimathi, Kimathi and his colleagues

came out and then

the guards presented arms in our honor.

The

mau mau from within

306

and then inspected them. I had Mwathe, such as Kirange (Gathuri

three of us saluted the guards

known some

of his guards at

Wanyee, Mbaka and Rwigi. We entered the office twelve by twenty-five feet. Three of its four-foot walls were well covered to protect [against] cold, while the fourth wall acted as a window with two and a half feet covered from the ground. The room had two long bamboo tables and one Mukiri),

—

small table,

all

covered with pondo bark.

Kimathi had been preparing books in which Gathitu entered the data. Shamuli (Gathura Muita) had shifted from the hospital and had then become Kimathi’s personal secretary. He was busy typing some letters from Kimathi’s drafts calling leaders to attend ceremonial prayers ending the first year’s fight in the forest to be held on December 31st at Ruhuruini Hill. At first Kimathi was interested with my report which covered a long story since we parted. He very much wanted to meet

Mathenge and Ngara. I told him that they had promised me that they would spend their Christmas in the Rift Valley between Nderagwa and Subuk. It was then difficult to send them letters inviting them to attend the annual ceremony. At any rate we hoped that they would be able to get the news in circulation before hand. Referring to Kabuga’s section, he

commented

should hold a cleansing ceremony for he believed that

contaminated by some

Kimathi

told

me

I

Kiambu

it

evils.

of his journey to

Kiambu and how he was him that we had talked the

angry with the Kiambu people. I told matter over on the previous day and hoped the

mbuci had been

that that

his letter

might arouse

people to join the war.

my record books and showed him the data I had He told me that he had brought data from all the

then took out

collected.

Murang’a camps and that was sufficient work to keep me in the office to the end of the year entering these data into the big books. In the evening, Kimathi introduced me to our warriors in that gave a short speech to encourage our warriors. I pointed out that it was more than a year since the emergency was declared. The Kenya Government had agreed with General Hinde’s forecast

camp.

I

would defeat Mau Mau within 6 weeks. In fact, General Hinde was defeated and succeeded by General Erskine. I mentioned that after travelling and collecting reports from many parts that he

UNITY AND DIVISION Nyandarua,

307

had found that the last seven months of Harvard bombing excluding nine deaths and ten casualties inflicted by the Police Air Wing early in March only two persons in Kabuga’s section had been killed and three injured compared with two airplanes that we have shot down, killing all aboard, plus petrol and bombs cost and pilots wages. In addition to that, these Harvards of

I

—

have helped us twice to kill their own forces, once at Kariaini where they killed forty-two and the other at Deighton Downs where a Government force camp was completely finished off by a

which had seen the camp fire at night. Without any doubt, [I said] one can see that God has protected us from the enemy fire poured from their planes with the intention

jet fighter

to destroy us, but

God

our

has destroyed them with their

own

weapons just as we had prayed.’ I appealed to our fighters to persevere and have confidence that we were going to win. Thereafter our warriors dispersed into their huts and the fires were lit. Golonel Icatha had ordered for my hut to be built; he took me there and

we moved

then

mess where we sat around the fire talking on whatever flashed into our minds. Maize mixed with hatha (a vegetable of the nettle family) was served to us for dinner, after which our itungati practiced drill, dancing and singing. to the officers

For the next three weeks

I

continued

my

office routine assisted

by Gathura Muita and Major Vindo (Ndururi Gititika) and Gathitu Waithaka. On one of the nights when we sat around a fire, Kimathi introm duced a new idea saying that one day Jesus had spoken to his '

disciples saying

shine unto

:

‘Ye are the light of the world

‘We

...

Let your

light

from the sun, moon and stars,’ said Kimathi. ‘Now, since the government has taken away our sun, Jomo Kenyatta, and the moon, all the other political leaders and even all the big stars have been arrested only the young stars are all.’

get light

—

—

left

shining over our country.

‘1

the

he sun gives us

moon

its

light for twelve

takes over, but she

is

hours a day. After sunset

not faithful

;

sometimes she gives

us her light for an hour only

When The

she

is

very sincere,

big stars are just like

us from sunset

till

sincere friends

who

and then she leaves us in the darkness. she would give us her light for ten hours, the moon, but the young stars abide with

sunrise, giving us their little light; they are will not

abandon us when the

our

troubles come.

MAD MAU FROM WITHIN

308 As Jesus had

told his disciples,

I tell

you.

You

are the

Kenya young

Sun and the Moon are released. ‘Yes, Marshal,’ I commented, ‘that is a very important idea and should be conveyed to all our warriors, making each understand that he or she is a Kenya young star and that our lovely Kenya that is longing for his or her light. By light I mean the leadership would lead us to victory to the promised Land and Freedom. This covers the power, knowledge and activities that are required right now by the Kenya people. By this I mean that we who are free to sit down and discuss, write our thoughts to our sympathizers or meet them or act according to what we think is right, should now take the country’s leadership and all the responsibilities in our hands, command both the forest and reserve. stars; keep on shining

till

the

—

‘I

think that

we have

the right ideas, but communication has

by the enemy; it is sometimes difficult to communicate with other fighters, more difficult to communicate with the reserves bordering the forest and most difficult to communicate with other districts or provinces. Nevertheless, we must been made

difficult

we can do. At least we must organize here in the forest Kenya Young Stars Association of which all fighters would be

try all that

a

members. After the war be recorded

in the

this association

Kenya

should be registered and

history as the “Light of

Kenya During

Kenya’s Dark Ages”.’ After a few comments of the same kind from Major Vindo and Gathura Muita we resolved that we should go on preaching the formation of the Kenya Young Stars Association to all our warriors. It was November 17th in the afternoon when the whole of

Nyandarua was first terrorized by the heavy bombers. A heavy rain had just stopped and we were in our huts warming ourselves and taking much care less any airplane sees the smoke of our fires. A heavy bomber dropped eight bombs consecutively at Ruthaithi about fifteen miles away. The airplane moved from north to south along the line bordering the black forest and the bamboo region in which the land forces had marked many of the deserted camps. Its noise grew louder and louder as it drew nearer and nearer. It became certain that the noise was not of the Harvard bombers but was of a passenger plane then our fears disappeared [in the

—

thunder of bombs]. Suddenly, eight of

them consecutively

Valley east of our camp.

A

it

started dropping 1000

lb.

bombs,

on the Chania great storm accompanied by both horat 200 yard intervals

UNITY AND DIVISION

309

thunderous noise and earth tremors knocked each of us down. This was over a hundred times stronger than any bomb’s explosion we had experienced before. Some thought that the airplane had crashed down on us, others thought that that was an atomic bomb rible

they had heard

Some thought that the twigs which fell from the shocked trees were bomb shells. Fear and the airplane’s speed did not give us any time to think. Though the plane was going away from us, it continued to drop bombs in Gura Valley, Kariaini, of.

Mathioya and Maragua. At about the same time, another airplane of the same kind started dropping bombs in the western side of the mountain bordering the Rift Valley. Before

we

could discuss anything of the

bombers, another plane of

new

passenger

kind started bombing Mt. Kenya. These bombs were so thunderous that we could hear them clearly its

whenever dropped on any part of Mt. Kenya or the Aberdares. The airplane was slow in speed and its roars could be heard some fifty

miles away.

Our

warriors

who had been

honey uphill arrived and reported that they clearly saw the airplane. ‘It was not a passenger plane,’ one of them said. ‘It was a grey plane as big as the passenger collecting

planes but, unlike the passenger planes,

protruding navel) through which rible

bomber became known

navel-bearer. Later on

we

it

had a big gikonyo (i.e., dropped the bombs.’ This horit

to us nyagi-konyo, the protruding-

learned that

it

was the Lincoln Heavy

Bomber.

Kimathi and I, including many others, wanted to see the area destroyed by the bombs so that we could assess its strength. Many of us guessed that the bombs had been dropped between two and three hundred yards from the camp. We had walked about a quarter of a mile when we saw two big cleared areas on the other slope of the river Chania. It seemed to be more than a mile away. The soil from the holes made by the bombs seemed to have slid into the river and the big furrow was clearly seen. We decided to walk further until we reached the place. On our arrival we were very surprised to see that the sliding soil from both banks of the river and their steep slopes had blocked the river Chania, making a very big dam. The bomb had made a hole about twenty yards in diameter and about thirty feet deep. Almost every tree within 200 yards radius had been injured by either the shells or the stones thrown by the bomb. A big muna tree with about

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

3 10

base had been completely uprooted and thrown some 200 yards away down the slope. One of the iron blades we collected was rough and sharp and weighed more than seven feet diameter at

thirty pounds.

its

The ground

covering about a hundred and

fifty

yards in diameter was fully covered by the soil that had been thrown high up in the air by the bomb and had fallen to the

ground.

The bombs had

destroyed more than a mile’s length,

which reflected a sorrowful scenery. It proved that the British had decided to destroy us. ‘What makes the British use such strong and destructive bombs on unarmed people?’ I asked. ‘The answer is simple,’ said Kimathi. ‘The Europeans have seen that we are definitely winning while they are losing and that is why they have increased their powers so much. They are a strange people; they may try to destroy all the country and reduce the Africans to a less number in population compared to their own before they quit the country.’

‘Have you forgotten that a European hates very much to see another person drinking out of a cup he himself has drunk of?’ said Vindo. ‘He would rather break that cup than to see it being used by somebody

‘That

is

else,

true,’ said

and an African

in particular.’

another gitungati.

‘I

have been a European’s

cook for twenty years and I have never seen them invite an African to dinner, no matter how long he has served or the quality of his service. I have gone on many safaris with them and I believe that they think an African does not feel hunger. And above all, he is so inferior that to treat an African as

human would

be [considered]

by a European.’ ‘I wonder how we shall live with them after acquiring our independence?’ asked Gathura Muita. ‘All the Kenya Europeans will have to quit the country when we get independence,’ I said. ‘Not because we shall chase them but many would be ashamed of their evil actions during the war, their utterances and their unrealistic promises they have given their children and wives that they are here to stay as masters in the White Highland. Many of them suffer from incurable gross superiority [feelings] and absolute selfishness. Many would be quite unwilling to work under the African Government as their superiority would lead them to disobedience. The fear that the Africans might revenge the inhuman treatment they have received from these an

evil

UNITY AND DIVISION

311

Europeans would definitely drive them all out of the country; but many more Europeans will come with full knowledge that they are visitors of the African Government which they would respect and obey as much as their own. ‘Don’t

the

let

mislead you,’ English

I

common

statement that

continued.

men and women

‘In

fact there

in Britain

who

all

Europeans are bad

are very

many good

share our feelings.

They They

[would] like to see us freed and managing our own affairs. are ready to treat us as equals. There are really little differences

between white and black people considered as individuals under their own wills and feelings. You will understand it easier if you remember that probably the Home Guard you are fighting against is your real brother, sister or parent, while there are many Europeans

every country such as Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Russia and China, who very much share our feelings they hate in

—

what we hate and like all that we like and if they were near they would help us in the fight to achieve our freedom. Those will come and we shall live with them as friends and partners in many enterprises.

Mark

that our real fight

is

not against the white color but

by the whites. What would be the difference between a white and a black European?’ I asked. ‘An enemy is an enemy,’ replied Icatha, ‘no matter whether he be your father or brother. Any one whose joy is your misery is against the system carried on

is

your enemy

’ !

‘Uric uri ho!* shouted

ology meaning ‘That

is

many

itungati, in

our colloquial termin-

true.’

‘Ucio uri ho?* asked Kimathi. f

Eei, ucio uri ho!* replied the itungati.

‘You can now be certain that our enemy is determined to finish us off,’ said Kimathi. ‘God is great, they will not be able to suc-

woe to those who would surrender them to survive.’

ceed; but

hope for

Some heavy

—there would

be no

clouds had been spreading their thick grey blankets

over the mountains and valleys and sending out signals of lightning and thunder, reporting that heavy rain was about to pour. Though

we

hurriedly ran back to the camp, by the time

we

arrived at the

mbuci we were as wet as fish. Nyagikonyo had frightened our people and we had to wait for three hours before it became dark enough for us to light fires. Most of us had only the wet pair of

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

312 clothes.

We

spent an uncomfortable night in both mental and

physical conditions.

following day Kimathi, myself, his clerks and bodyguard for Ruhuruini Hill. After four hours walk we arrived at Gen.

The left

Abdullah’s (Gitonga Muthui) mbuci. This camp had plundered some cattle from the reserve and we were served with cold roasted

Kimathi told Abdullah to send out scouts for selecting a campsite on Ruhuruini Hill where his section would be responsible for building the camp in which our fighters should

meat

for lunch.

perform the annual ceremonial prayers. The following morning we left the camp Ruthaithi area where lived

Kinaini stream land.

Our

we came

many

to

in

visit

small sections. Soon after crossing

Kabage road

Moorwere no enemy

that goes to the

scouts spied the road reporting that there

We

order to

and they took their positions in both directions of the road. We then passed between them taking much care that our footprints would not be seen by the enemy. We passed Kabage Forest Squatters’ gardens, which then had big bushes growing in which large herds of elephants, buffalo, rhinos and various types of animals were seen here and there.

tracks.

sent our bodyguards

first

Soon we entered a large grassland area with small shrub bushes and very scattered big trees. ‘This is Ruthaithi area, the center of the Mountain Royal National Park,’ said Kimathi. ‘See those trees? (pointing with his walking staff). That is where the Tree Tops Hotel was built. The whites used to enjoy the scenery and taking photos of the various animals which drink salt water in a small pool. The Njeng’u natural salt on the boundary of the reserve and the settled area is about two miles east of the Tree Tops. That salt, plus plenty of grass and warmth, makes this area the home of animals. This area, [being a salient] can easily be cordoned some three miles to the north, and one reaches the forest boundary both to the east and to the south. Ruthaithi is surrounded by the reserves.’ We could clearly see and hear people shout in the reserve. ‘Mr Njama, I won’t go to Kinaini to see the patients,’ said Kimathi. ‘You will go there and bring me the report before three in the afternoon. I have to return to Abdullah’s. This place is not safe for

me

to stay.’

We

continued our journey and soon came to a mbuci.

huts, the

owners

nearest river,

slept in tents

It

had no

during the rains only. Kinaini, the

was almost a mile from the camp. Colonel Warn-

UNITY AND DIVISION

313

(Wagura Waciuri), Kimathi’s youngest brother, was the leader of the mbuci and Major Gathee Ngumo, Kimathi’s brotherin-law, was the assistant.

bararia

We

were served with cold boiled meat and honey after which I left with some strong escorts and a guide from that mbuci. After two miles walk eastwards, I arrived at King’ora Mutungi’s small mbuci which had 18 warriors. He was very glad to see me. He

and asked her to give us some cold well roasted mutton. While we were eating, he told us that his assistant, nicknamed Blacker, had collected one of the mortar shells that were fired aimlessly into that area by cannon artilleries almost every evening. Since the mortar shell had not exploded, Blacker thought that if they opened it they could use the gunpowder inside for making hand grenades. He started opening the mortar while seven other itungati sat around him eagerly wanting to see what had made that mortar. All of a sudden it exploded, injuring six of them badly. Blacker has lost both eyes but he is getting better. Another gitungati has lost an eye; one of those we thought had lost sight called his wife

started seeing yesterday.

gitungati

who

has two

The

others, with the exception of

one

head, will soon recover.’

shells in his

My

After eating, he took us to his hospital. heart was full of sorrow and sympathy when I saw that those itungati had many dangerous wounds all over their bodies. I tried to speak to them for

some encouragement but often

my

my mouth

whenever I tried to figure out the future of their disability. I told them of the blinds’ schools and the various works that could be done by cripples out of which they could earn their living. I told them that people like themselves should be the symbol of the freedom price and that the African Government should honor and help all the cripples and would not let them move into the city and towns heart blocked

as beggars.

We

left

the hospital and, with King’ora accompanying us, took

the report to Kimathi. After listening to the report, he

never again to attempt to open any

shell.

He showed

warned us

that he felt

great sympathy to the patients and wished, if such fighters could survive, [that they be] lined up under the National Flag on the freedom celebration day and let that blind man pull down the

Union Jack

for

its last

time in

hoist the National Flag for the

our

first

Kenya while another first

time.

Government should take care

We

would then talked on how cripple

of all the disabled persons.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

314

Kimathi then told me that he had split that mbuci into two Wambararia, his brother, assisted by Capt’s. Karau and Thia and his section of 40 itungati, while Gathee assisted by Capt. Binhalis would go to start a new mbuci of 33 itungati. formerly, before it was split, the camp had 13 girls. I pointed out to Kimathi that though we had named our armies we had never divided them into smaller units. ‘Though it would have been better for you,’ said Kimathi, ‘to remain here and collect data from all these small mbuci we will first go to Abdullah’s mbuci where we shall divide the Ituma Ndemi Army into its various units, after which you will return and con,

tinue your job here.’

So we night

set off, arriving at

we

spent

defining their

Here

is

IDA

st

evening.

Ndemi Army

That into

and Sub-Sections, and roughly areas of operation in both the forest and the reserves. Sections

a sample of the results 1

five in the

time dividing the Ituma

much

Companies,

Divisions,

Abdullah’s at

Division

:

commanded by

KahiuItina; North Tetu Location; four companies

:

Brigadier

General

with three sections in each.

IDA IDA IDA IDA

1/1

IDA IDA IDA

1/3/1

Col.

Wamthandi

1/3/2

Col.

Wambararia

1/3/3

Col. Gathee

IDA IDA

1/3/2/

Capt. Karau

1/3/2/2

Capt. Thia

1

Gen. Ndiritu Thuita Gen. Nyaga (Muriuki Gathure) Gen. Abdullah (Gitonga Muthiu) Gen. Jeriko (Mubia Mung’ongi)

/2

1/3 1

/4

IDA 2nd

Division

:

commanded by

(General)

Kihara

had four companies with four Othaya Location.

IDA

3rd Division

:

sections each;

under (General) Njau Kiore; had panies with three sections each;

Kagumu

six

com-

Mahiga Loca-

Mathenge lived in this Division but was elected commander of the entire Ituma Ndemi Army.] tion. [Stanley

UNITY AND DIVISION IDA 4th Division

:

315

under (General Gikonyo Kanyungu; three companies with two sections; Chinga Location and Muhito Location.

At about this time our fighters from Aguthi Location had moved from the forest back into the reserve under Gen. Kariba. Plundering cattle from the reserve had become rather difficult due to increased security forces and strongly fortified posts and the decrease of ammunition to our side. Carrying food on shoulders from

Aguthi Location, which

is

almost in the center of the

district,

had

become tiresome to those warriors. A habit of hiding in the reserve for two days before returning into the forest was prolonged to a week due to the fear of Lincoln bombers in the forest. Instead of splitting and hiding in small numbers they stayed together in order to strengthen their arms and ammunition in case they were forced to fight. During the night Kariba’s gang moved all over the reserve and recruited many other fighters who might be sent from the forest to join his company. In a short time his company had acquired many arms and ammunition and ate the best possible food in the reserve and enjoyed the girls as companions who served them in the evenings. This was the beginning of the Kenya Levellation Army in Nyeri. It spent the day in plantations [i.e., fields] and small bushes and whenever discovered by the Government forces it bravely fought many day battles which we shall hear about .

.

.

later.

We

found that we could not divide the armies up into their smaller units without the help of the leaders concerned. We postponed it to the end of the year during which time we could resume it

in the I

presence of the leaders

we demanded.

returned to Ruthaithi on the

collect the required data.

1st

of

This area had

December

many

in

order to

small unorganized

komerera gangs with four or six fighters making a camp of their own, taking much care on how and where to steal food and hide their camp. During this period I visited nine camps in the area Wambararia’s, [including] Gathee’s and Omera’s (Ndiritu Wang’ombe), which was unlike the others. This latter camp had the best gunmaker. His homemade guns differed very little with the manufactured ones. When I learnt that, I called Kimathi from Abdullah’s to come and see the ready made guns and arrange with him [i.e., the gun-maker] how he could teach others and enlarge

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

3 6

and equipment necessary. Omera had well organized some settler farm workers who regularly supplied his camp maize flour, coffee, sugar, medicine, money and clothing or the orders of the tools

any other of

their requirements.

some komerera camps, Thuo’s with ten itungati, Kiongi’s with four and Lord’s (Gicambira) with six. Unlike the Next,

I

visited

other komereras, these leaders did not hide themselves. to visit the big leaders

and

talk

about their camps’

They

liked

activities as

though they were of equal rank with the big leaders. They often presented gifts to the big leaders and cunningly evaded exposing

how many

itungati they

had or whereabout

they didn’t like any leader to

visit

their

camps were,

for

them.

mbuci I visited Jeriko’s mbuci which had some eight itungati and four hundred yards to the north was the Kenya Levellation Army camp under Montgomery, with some sixty [of the most] well-armed, clean and well-dressed fighters in the whole of Nyandarua. This is where the Kenya Levellation [sections] encamped whenever chased from the reserve; it was about one and a half miles from the forest boundary. Between the two camps was a small pond in which the rhinos, buffaloes, elephants and all the other animals drank. The two camps drank the same stagnant filthy water, full of animals dung and urine; frogs, toads, mosquitoes and various types of insects bred there. I felt that the water was unfit for drinking and when I pointed out to them that that water might infect them some diseases, they argued that there were no germs or diseases in the forest and that God had blessed everything in the forest to become food to our fighters and that he has allowed the warriors to lift all the taboos. They used the collecting of honey from beehives without the consent of the owners and stealing of bewitched food to illustrate their statement. In the end they rejected the idea that After spending a night in each of the

last

,

,

,

the water might be harmful.

These camps had plenty of meat thirsty frequently.

I

to eat,

which made one

to feel

hated to drink that unboiled water which

was too proud and wanted to live above their standard. As I was not pleased with life in those camps, I stayed two days in each and then moved to King’ora’s camp. None of these camps I had visited in the Ruthaithi area built any huts. They used tents or slept in the open during the dry seasons. On 14th December, King’ora asked me to go with him to a

made them

feel that I

UNITY AND DIVISION laborers village on a settler

317

farm near Mweiga. He wanted me so that they would be courageous enough

speak to the villagers supply us with the things supervisor

and

s

we wanted. Two house

to to

keepers, the farm

were the only ones in the village who had not taken the oath. The laborers wanted them to be initiated so that they could all help the fighters without anyone to inform their families

the settler.

We

the forest at five in the evening, a gang of sixteen warriors, including King’ora and myself, armed with two rifles, one left

shotgun and five home-made guns. out of the forest in six months.

It

my

was

first

day

to set foot

We

descended to an open grassland valley and by the time we had climbed its far slope we were one hundred yards from the

main road and two miles from the forest. We could see Kenya Ng ombe taking their ambush positions behind us in Hutchinson’s farm where they had encamped. Six lorries and two Land Rovers carrying Kenya Ng’ombe and some KAR forces passed us. We thought that they were from Mweiga H.Q. and were going to ambush our fighters. I felt quite unsafe knowing that we were not well armed, and that only the long grass prevented us from being seen by the enemies. I knew it was difficult for me to run three miles to the forest without being caught. I then kept on praying Ngai to protect us from falling in the enemy’s hands.

Before twilight

we

crossed the

main road and the fencing wires

and were walking along the farm’s hedge among growing gum trees just about a hundred yards from the settler’s house. Soon the farm owner arrived in his Land Rover. We saw two askari who guarded the house salute the settler. One had a rifle, the other had

We

a shotgun.

sent

built next to the

some

itungati to spy the village

farm house on the eastern

side

which was and separated by a

barbed wire fence.

At

twilight our itungati entered the village

and took guarding

A

few laborers helped to collect the others into the largest hut. When they were all settled, one gitungati came for us. positions.

He

said

we

could continue to give lectures to the villagers while

awaiting for the two housemen and their leave their master’s house at nine.

We

first

sent Kariuki

wives of those

who had

them a simple oath

Thandiku

headman who would

to administer the oath to the

not been initiated.

consisting of meat, soil

We

told

him

to give

and blood pricked from

3

MAUMAU FROM WITHIN

1

their

own

fingers,

and

to

make them swear

not betraying us but of helping

a binding promise of

us.

Kariuki brought the report that he had completed giving them the oath, we entered the house in which about 60 people were seated. Many of them knew King’ora, who introduced me to them

When

as the Chief Secretary of the

Kenya Defense

Council.

took oath in order to achieve unity and confidence between one another and among the African community. I told them that we were fighting for our lands which Europeans had stolen some 50 years ago and in which they were I

them

told

working

that

as servants.

we

I

promised them that when we achieved our

The other thing we were fighting for was freedom. I told them that we didn’t want to be ruled by the white community. Wc wanted to throw away the

victory that land should be shared unto them.

and regulations which were enforced by the colonial system. I told them that our aim was to form an African Government that would rule the country; that all the Africans were

bad

rules

welcomed with the exception of the traitors. I told them that there was no difference between a traitor and an enemy. I told them all the help we demanded from them. The headman and his two men entered into the house after being trapped by one of the villagers. Each of them at the guns point were asked whether they were willing to take the oath or not.

Each paid 50 shillings fine for their former activities. I repeated my speech and showed them how they could help us to spy their master. We wished them

As soon

as they accepted they

were

initiated.

goodbye and then left. We had hardly gone a hundred yards when the villagers started whistling and shouting for help. Our tramps [i.e., walk] quickly changed into loud pats as we ran away. The askari guarding the house heard us and opened fire towards us. We quickly crossed the

main road and descended down

into the valley.

When we

we saw many Land help. They used their

started climbing the other slope of the stream,

Rovers and

lorries

going to that

home

for

which showed us the way. When their lights struck us we laid on the ground and walked on our knees and arms. Soon we reached the forest boundary where we paused to have a breath searchlights

from the long run. I learned that we were only five persons. I wondered where the rest were. I was informed that they had driven all

UNITY AND DIVISION the village sheep to our

mbuci when

was

I

31g

lecturing.

‘Some carried

large luggage/ said one of the guards.

Before our sweat cooled down, the

which passed

their red lights over

again inside the

forest,

enemy

started firing

our heads.

We

changing our direction

in

mortar

started to

move

order to avoid

those shells but they again aimlessly fired on our direction. Their firing

angered some two rhinos

and challenged

we

who

mistook us for firing on them

up the trees and the rhinos disappeared in the darkness. We came down and slowly walked to our mbuci. We found the group that had sheep some 300 yards outside the camp. We all entered the camp at midnight and killed some 97 sheep. Since we could not slaughter them all, we split the abdomen and left them. I was very much surprised when King’ora said that he wanted to see all the goods his itungati had collected from that village. I was ashamed to learn that our itungati had ransacked every house of our own sympathizers, carrying away much clothing, beddings and utensils. I asked King’ora why he had given such a command and he denied to have the knowledge. The itungati reported that they were ordered by Kariuki Thandiku, his lieutenant. I became very much angry with him for spoiling the lecture I had given and for making all those villagers turn away from us by stealing their property while I had sincerely advocated for confidence and us.

Luckily,

all

got

cooperation.

‘You must learn to act according to what you preach. To those villagers there is no difference now between you and Home Guards/ I shouted angrily. ‘What you have done to them is exactly what the Home Guards do and you always complain and despise the Home Guards’ activities. ‘King’ora,

owners.

think

I

What

‘We should

is

it is

advisable to return

all this

property to the

your opinion ?’

return only a letter of apology to the villagers/ said

our fighters use the clothing. Our itungati are We have given out our lives for them/ fighting for those people he said in an angered tone. ‘We are not fighting for wages but for King’ora, ‘and

let

!

the love of our people and country.

— they

They

are

still

earning and

which should feed, clothe and supply everything to our fighters. How would the state fi.e., African Government and people?] expect us to continue the fight cultivating

while

we

are

the

state

are hungry, starving of cold

and with no supplies of any

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

320

Mr

kind?

Njama,

you would

if

visit

that village next week,

you

new one. If we asked them to buy all these things for us the most we could get would have been less than a quarter of what we have, being supplied with many excuses. Could a million excuses satisfy our hunger? Don’t you know that at this stage our living depends would

find that everything

we

took had been replaced by a

ninety-nine per cent on our personal strength and skill and not on our sympathizers’ help? Since many of our sympathizers have lost their

lives

or have

become

cripples or are serving sentences in

prisons, plus the ever increased supervision

Government

side,

many

and information

are trying to escape us as

much

to the

as possible

though they are not helping the Government.’ ‘The country now is under the minister of war,’ said Kariuki, ‘and all its wealth and property is at the disposal of his warriors. During the war, no one should think that he owns anything, even his

life.’

Though

the two

men seemed

to out-vote

me

with their reason-

depended mostly on the mass support; that without the mass we would be easily defeated. To get the mass confidence on us would be our greatest weapon. Something must be done to maintain that confidence. ‘Yes,’ said King’ ora, ‘we must all the time let our sympathizers understand that whatever bad we do onto them is neither our intentions nor our will, but is always due to some circumstantial able arguments,

I

warned them that our

victory

force.’

Though my

clothes

were badly torn,

I

did not accept any of the

from that raid. We discussed the letter we should those villagers and then fell asleep at almost four in the

clothes obtained

send to

morning.

The

following day messengers were sent out inviting the sur-

rounding mbuci to come and collect some sheep carcases as they would go bad, since that mbuci had only thirty fighters including the ones in the hospital.

Three days later I heard of another komerera mbuci and decided to spend a day searching it. I left the camp with four fighters. On our way we were challenged by a rhino, knocking down one gitungati by piercing

its

blunt horn through his thigh and making

two other holes below the calves and many other bruises. We took our patient to Jeriko’s mbuci and stopped our search of the komerera mbuci.

UNITY AND DIVISION

321

our days later, on 22nd December, I visited our rhino victim with two escorts. I found that his legs were badly swollen and thousands of fly maggots were wriggling all over his body. At a l

close observation,

When

I

I

found that

turned him

I

had bred

wounds. discovered that the side he was lying on was flies

in his septic

from the hip to the knee. It became clear that the patient had not been attended to for at least three days. Jeriko gave an excuse that they did not have any medicine left. I also had left my medicine kit and only carried my satchel. With salt, dissolved in rotten

luke

warm

him from

water,

I

cleansed the patient

s

wound and removed

the maggots into another hut.

On

our return, we found that our mbuci had been found by the enemy and we did not know where our warriors had gone. We then went to Gathee’s mbuci arriving there at seven in the evening only to find that the camp had been deserted. We moved some ,

four hundred yards from the mbuci and

under a big tree surrounded by a small bush. We had neither food nor blankets nor anything to cover with. We spent a night of sorrow and worry. The following day we went to Kinaini hospital. We found that the patients had greatly improved. The blind man had learned to walk to the lavatory some sixty yards and return to his own hut without being led. His senses of feeling and hearing had increased. I was very much amazed that the patient could describe the last lit

a big

thing he saw, and the hospital he was living

never seen

Soon

in,

fire

though he had

it.

after our arrival in the hospital,

two itungati arrived from

King’ora’s mbuci to inform the patients’ attendant that their

camp

had been raided by the foe. They suspected that the meat store might have been seen by the enemy and probably poisoned. They said that two scouts had been sent to make certain what things were destroyed by the enemy and which ones were not seen. They said that the enemy had surprisingly opened fire right inside the camp. One of the two itungati that were in the camp was still missing and the other had six bullet holes in his clothes but none hurt him. They told us where they had encamped. At midday we left for the new camp, arriving there in the evening. I found that my medicine kit was carried by the missing gitungati. The following day I went to Warbararia’s mbuci. After spending a night in his camp, he accompanied me with a dozen itungati and on the evening of 25th December we met Kimathi at Abdullah's

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

322 mbuci.

We

spent that night telling each other what had happened

we parted. The next day we

since

where the annual ceremony was to be performed. A big meeting hall in the church fashion and tentatively called the Kenya Young Stars Association Memorial visited the buildings

Hall was built ioo feet by 20 feet with three long rows of benches estimated to accommodate 500 people. Leaders’ and itungati huts

under construction. On December 29th the Nyeri leaders started to arrive. In the late afternoon of the 31st two leaders from Gikuyu Iregi Army and nearly all the leaders of Mburu Ngebo Army had arrived. The only

were

still

recognized absentee from the latter

Mburu Ngebo Army Rift Valley

Army was Ndungu

leaders reported that

and had given an excuse

Giceru.

Mathenge was

The

in the

for his absence as not being

had been written a long time ago, none of us knew whereabout his camp might be and so the letter was never dispatched. Leaders from IDA 2 and IDA 4 were absent. Wacira Gathuku and Gitonga Gicingu were the only and their leaders who represented IDA 3. All the leaders of IDA

Though

invited.

his letter of invitation

1

itungati were present.

my

With

badly torn clothes,

I

looked very ugly amongst the

and nicknamed me Huni Macaga, ‘Raggy Johnny.’ I told him that I had brought nine pairs of clothes with me to the forest of which I gave eight to some other itungati who dressed like me at the moment. Kimathi gave me his khaki long trousers and a woolen dark brown shirt. He also wrote a letter ordering clothes for me from his subleaders

who were

all

well dressed. Kimathi noted that

location.

Kimathi and four other colleagues all dressed in Kikuyu elders’ sheep cloaks. Each tied a Kikuyu sword around his waist, was barefooted, [with] castor-oil smeared all over his body. They carried with them all varieties of the Kikuyu cereals, edible roots, bananas and sugar canes, Kikuyu slaughter knives, a gourd gitete full of honey and another one full of milk, half-gourds and pots. Kimathi, dragging a spotless all-black ram, departed from us heading to a big fig tree some two hundred yards from the camp under which they slew the ram and made fire by means of friction. When we were called, about 800 fighters approached the ceremony. Under the fig tree was a newly lit fire, burning slowly under a pile of wood. T he five persons stood in a line by the fire facing (

!

UNITY AND DIVISION Mt. Kenya with Kimathi in the front

we

row,

in their center.

stood behind them.

323

With the other

On

their left side

leaders I

could

ceremony well lain on the ground. Kimathi, holding a small gourd in his right hand, began the prayer

see all the apparatus that

were used

in the

:

Our

God, we beseech you

forefathers’

to

approach us and

—

to

hear our prayers. (We all together said Thaai, ‘Peace be with us,’ at every Kimathi’s pause, with our hands raised high over

our heads holding a

We

green

Gikuyu and whom you gave mountains, valleys and many

and daughters and heirs you created; your own creation

are the sons

Mumbi whom this

little soil.)

fertile

land,

of

full

of

permanent flowing streams.

Our

forefathers for generations have enjoyed the products

of this beautiful land of ours roots

and

You

:

meat, blood, milk, honey, cereals,

fruits.

taught our forefathers

how

to

pray you and how to use

the seven foodstuffs to your sacrifice. If

we have offeneded

you,

Our Heavenly

Father, by abandon-

and sacrifices as you have taught our forefathers, we greatly repent and regret to have been ignorantly misled by the strangers; we humbly beg your mercy and forgiveness. In the whole fashion of our forefathers we approach your sacred place of sacrifice (moving forward, nearer the fire) offering you all that we have, as you did unto our forefathers. ing our prayers

Oh

God, respond our prayers

This

gourd spirits.

is

the ram’s

fat.

(Pouring most of

it

on the

fire

from the

hand and the rest on the ground for the ancestral He passed the empty gourd on to the man on the right

in his

on the ground while the man on the left picked another gourd and handed it to him.) Bless all the fat for us. This is bees’ honey from both the hives and the wild hollow protrees; bless all the honey for us. (He repeated the former cedure until the seven foodstuffs were finished.) Our Heavenly Father, we beseech you to accept our roasted but sacrifice [i.e., sacrificial offerings]; we know no other God you, Almighty Father; we have never worshipped any idols

who

put

it

either of your fathers’ times.

own

creation or men’s handicraft in our fore-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

324

We

Oh

God, that the sweet smell of our offerings rising up with great smoke above this fig tree, which produces milk and which you showed our forefathers to be your chosen tree for sacrifice, will reach your Heavenly Home and your throne we beseech you, our God, to hear our prayers. Now, Almighty God, turn your face into our country and see that the white strangers you brought into our country have turned out to be our enemies; they have taken most of the best fertile lands and have enslaved us to work on the lands. Our demands for our lands and freedom have been badly reprimanded; the white strangers have taken up strong arms through which they have poured pools of blood all over our believe,

;

country.

Oh

Merciful Father, hear the cries of widows, orphans,

old aged parents

who have

lost their sons

and daughters, and the

perishing lives and the innocent blood.

we do not accuse the white strangers alone for pouring blood; we too, our hands are full of blood. Oh Merciful

Father, the

God, cleanse us and forgive us all our sins. Our Heavenly Father, we have no arms and we have no helpers; we believe that your mighty right hand will deliver us from our enemies; lead us, keep us, guard us against the enemy day and night; let our enemies destroy themselves with their

own

arms.

Oh

God, some of our

have turned against us through their ignorance forgive them and let them understand our aims convert them into our faith. We pray for all our warriors who have died in this struggle of freedom; that their names may forever remain as heroes relatives

;

;

and that their spirits would abide with your glory forever. Oh God, we pray for all our sympathizers who are starving under the oppression of the white strangers, either in the villages, towns, prisons or detention camps; save their lives so that your name would be praised by the Kenya people and the world. We pray for all our leaders who are in prisons, detention camps, and in all the forests, that they may be guided by you as you did with Moses and many Israel leaders who delivered their people out of Egypt; give our leaders power and wisdom so as to lead us well.

We

place

all

our leaders under your protec-

tion.

We

particularly beseech

you for Jomo Kenyatta, our leader;

!

UNITY AND DIVISION

325

guard and guide him, glorify him with wisdom and power so that he may be able to lead the Kenya people. We finally pray for our aims to be achieved; grant us our freedom quickly so that under your leadership we will come out of this forest victoriously; drive our enemies out of our country

and

let

We

the faithful ones be our friends.

Oh

thank you,

God, for keeping us

throughout

alive

this

ending year, in spite of all the dangers that have surrounded us; we thank you for our food, clothing and shelter. May the New Year break up with good news and our victory. Father, keep us alive so that next year we shall be able to praise your

name

again. Thaai!

Then Kimathie began which we all joined

anthem

the traditional

in

a loud voice

:

Huuuuu! Huuuu thaai! (‘Peace be with The fighters’ chorus Huuuuu! Huuuu thaai! Kimathi

:

us!’)

:

Kimathi

Wiyathi thai! (‘Freedom and peace

:

Itungati:

Huuuu

Kimathi

Tiri thai! (‘Soil

:

!’)

thai!

and peace

Huuuu thai! Kimathi Andu thai! (‘People and Itungati: Huuuu thai!

!’)

Itungati:

:

Kimathi

Ciana

:

thai! (‘Children

Huuuu

thai!

Kimathi

Mahiu

thai! (‘Livestock

Itungati:

Huuuu

thai!

Kimathi

Kimera

:

Huuuu Kimathi Mbura Itungati: Huuuu Itungati:

:

Kimathi

thai! (‘Plarvest

and peace

and peace

thai! (‘Rain

and peace

!’)

!’)

thai

Huuuu

Kimathi

:

Thayu

thai! (‘Peace,

Itungati:

Huuuu

thai!

:

!’)

thai!

Itungati:

Itungati:

!’)

Wiyathi thai! (‘Freedom and peace

:

Kimathi

!’)

and peace

Itungati: :

peace

!’)

thai!

peace

!’)

Huuuuu! Huuuu thaai! Huuuuu! Huuu thaai!

Thaai, thathaiya Ngai Everyone (three times) God, hear our prayers for peace !’) :

thai!

(‘Oh

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

326 With

we

that

we ended our

prayers and holding each others hands,

slowly walked in the darkness back into the camp. It was already

when our cooks started preparing our dinner. dinner we all went into the big meeting hall at ten

eight o’clock

After

The

o’clock.

was illuminated by burning fires both inside and outside. We spent most of the time singing songs which had been invented to record our successes in battles, praising leaders, some encouraging songs, songs for warning the traitors, etc. Kimathi delivered a speech to encourage our fighters. He referred to the prayers saying that God would grant our request according to [the sincerity of] our beliefs. He would hear only the faithful ones and not those who had doubts in their prayers. He stressed that we should be faithful to our God and take much care that we hall

not violate our vows.

Kimathi introduced the Kenya Young Stars Association and asked the fighters whether they accepted the idea. There was a great applause of the fighters’ approval of the association, and they started Kimathi’s song ‘When our Kimathi climbed the mountain They were all glad to be members of the new association. alone. The hall became a fashion to [i.e., model for] many other Memorial :

.’

.

.

Halls. I

gave an account of our successful events,

clarified all

our armies

and gave details of divisions in the Ituma Ndemi Army, and told them the different kinds of records that were kept for them. I told them that every individual’s activity was recorded and that those records would form a book of history which would be read by our future generations. ‘What you do,’ I said, ‘good or bad, is what they shall read of you.’ A few other leaders gave speeches after being introduced to the new itungati. At a quarter to midnight we started prayers in which two itungati two leaders and two girls prayed and Kimathi ended and dedicated the prayers. The prayers were composed of thanksgivings, protection, forgiveness and God’s guidance for the New ,

We

finished our prayers at

twenty after midnight and, being in a New Year, exchanged greetings and continued our songs to half past one when we went to sleep.

Year.

The

following day,

1st

January 1954, our

fighters

dispersed.

Kimathi expressed his desire to visit the Mburu Ngebo Army and promised the leaders that he would visit them before the end of the month. Gen. Kimbo was left so as to have a chance of communi-

eating with his

UNITY AND DIVISION people in the reserve. We then

327 agreed that he

would lead us to his camp as soon as he was ready to return. Kimathi, Kimbo, Kahiu-Itina and myself, and many other leaders, left for Chania and Nyaga’s mbuci. After our arrival, Kahiu-Itina and his leaders left and crossed the river Chania. Two days later Nyaga’s itungati raided cattle

one

in the afternoon.

the cattle had driven

could drink water.

in the reserve at

about

The armed Home Guards who were herding them

When

to a stream near the forest so that they

our fighters opened

fire,

the

Home

Guards

ran away shouting for help leaving the cattle behind. Our warriors drove many cattle into the forest. 1 hey crossed

were climbing the far slope they were spotted by KAR and Kenya Police who had come in Land Rovers to help the Home Guards. They opened fire on our fighters who the stream

and

as they

were more than a mile away. The enemies’ fire dispersed both cattle and our fighters as they were in an open area. At four o’clock some itungati arrived in the mbuci saying that they had some seventy-two head of cattle in the forest and that they had lost as many as three times that while fighting with the enemy who were the still following them. Kimathi said that they should not bring

mbuci but they should climb up the mountain until they came to the Mihuro area composed of all dry bamboo and make a new camp there. Some twenty armed itungati were sent cattle in the

out to help in the fight while the others drove the cattle. One gitungati, nicknamed Mbaka, had been injured

by an

enemy’s bullet from about a mile’s distance. T he bullet had struck his sword’s sheath, making a big hole through his sword which he had hoisted on his shoulder, passing through the front bottom part

was about to clean his wounds, Kimathi shouted that everyone was to take his belongings and quit the camp right then and head for Mihuro some seven miles away. We quickly collected our luggage and left. We had only gone about a mile from the camp by the time the enemy opened fire in the camp we had left. We arrived at Mihuro at midnight and found some itungati killing the cattle. A few tents were pegged out for the leaders and the darkness prevented the itungati from building their own huts. Though we had fresh meat to eat, we spent a sorrowful night, for of some forty-eight fighters who had been left behind the cattle to fight the enemy, none of them had arrived to of h is stomach.

report the fight.

As

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

328 The

following day,

all

our fighters arrived safely at midday and

enemy until it they had heard the enemy firing on not know whereabout the [new] camp

reported that they thrice exchanged

fires

with the

was dark. They told us that the camp; they therefore did would be. They followed the cattle track but the darkness impeded their journey. During the night the elephants, buffaloes and rhinos followed the cattle track making it difficult for them to follow

it.

Mbaka, my patient, and I moved to Mihuro with a bodyguard and two carriers. There were four other

In the afternoon, hospital

patients with four guards, one of

whom

treated the patients.

One

was suffering from pneumonia while two others had become very weak through starvation in the Moorlands where they had relied on trapping animals and collecting honey for some months. One of them, Ngara Mahihia, told me that during the month which they didn’t catch any animal they had lived on water in which they boiled old bones and hide of a buffalo. The hard pieces of buffalo hide had become undigestable in their stomachs and had resulted to the death of two of their comrades. For the next three weeks I spent my time treating my patients and recording. It was in this area that we built a book store for all the Nyandarua records. Together with the medicine I gave my patients, I urged them to eat much meat which was required for repairing their wounds. I was very much pleased when I got Mbaka healed within a fortnight. By the end of the month all the patients were completely cured. We moved from Mihuro to join Nyaga’s mbuci at Thaina (Zaina) River, where we met Kimathi and Kimbo and many other leaders. Kimathi was very glad for the recovery of the patients. I told him that I had not finished the recording work and that I would continue it after our return from the Mburu Ngebo Army. of the patients

CHAPTER XVII

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT In early February 1954, the unwieldy and largely ineffectual Kenya Defense Council was superseded by the newly formed Kenya Parliament. Comprised of Dedan Kimathi and twelve establish itself elected members, the Kenya Parliament hoped to Government of Kenya. Its aims authority and legitimacy among Aberdare initiate a new military offensive, aimed at

as the legitimate interim African

were

(1) to establish its

guerrilla groups, (2) to enemy property, (3) to separate itself

and

dissociate

its

members from

from the military hierarchy

particular sections or territorial

national character and g&m tribes added military support by extending the revolt to other to reorganize and assume authority over regions, and

groupings,

to demonstrate

(4)

and

its

(5)

the civilian population in the reserves. In contrast to the Kenya Defense Council, the limited

Kenya Parliament enabled it general, to react more effectively

bership of the

and, in

situations

and

crises.

On

to

mem-

meet more

easily

in the face of

the other hand, the

new

Kenya Parliament

membegan with a somewhat narrower base of support as its armies and bers were drawn disproportionately from the various Ituma Ndemi Army forest zones. Thus, including Kimathi, the placed seven

men

in the Parliament,

Mburu Ngebo Army

four,

and Kenya Levellation Armies one each. More importantly, perhaps, a narrower breakdown reveals that North Tetu Division of six of the thirteen members were from

and the Gikuyu

Nyeri

District,

Iregi

while three of the Rift Valley

(Mburu Ngebo

Again, of the six Ndemi Army and only officers elected, five were from the Ituma four one from the Mburu Ngebo Army. North Tetu held Rift Valley one. positions, Othaya Division of Nyeri one, and the District, and In addition to the over-representation of Nyeri Tetu Division in particular, on the Kenya Parliament, it

Army) members were

originally

from

this area.

North

achieved some significant that the majority of those elected had among formal education and were, by forest standards, classed is

329

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

33 °

the educated as distinct from the

both these features of

become

illiterate.

As we

shall

see,

Kenya Parliament composition were

to

focal points of future conflict.

Events occurring outside Nyandarua during the

first

half of

1954

Aberdare guerrilla forces and their relations with other rebel groups and supporters in the reserve, Nairobi and Mt. Kenya. The first of these began on 15 January with the capture of Gen. China (Waruhiu Itote), acknowledged leader of Mt. Kenya’s 5,000-man guerrilla army. China’s confession and ultimate collaboration with Special Branch officers led to an abortive three-month Government operation named Wedgewood, designed to bring about the surrender of forest forces through negotiation. Government military operations in the forest were temporarily suspended and contact was estabsignificantly affected

lished with guerrilla leaders through

and letters. The surrender talks, however, never extended beyond the Mt. Kenya leadership and ended (on a rather humiliating note for the Government) as all the guerrilla leaders save China managed to ‘escape’ Government custody and return to the forest. As will become clear from Karari’s account, the refusal of Kimathi and the other Kenya Parliament leaders to enter the proposed negotiations with Government until certain rather rigorous conditions were met was a reflection of both guerrilla strength and assumed Government weakness. Government’s offer to negotiate was, in itself, interpreted among Aberdare leaders as a sign of weakness, and the prevailing circumstances did, indeed, seem to justify the belief that guerrilla forces were at least holding their own. It was certainly true that after almost a year and a half of fighting, and with vastly superior weapons, the Government seemed no closer to defeating the insurgent forces. In fact, guerrilla strength seemed to be growing, with Kenya Levellation Army units more active than ever in the reserve, a Nairobi Land and Freedom Army formed and very active, supplies flowing from the city into the forests, and Government apparently unable to launch a winning offensive against the guerrilla armies of Nyandarua and Mt. Kenya. Government’s position was thus assessed in the January 1954 Report of the Colonial Office Parliamentary Delegation to Kenya as follows

leaflets

1

.

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT It

is

our view based upon

33

the evidence available to us,

all

and responsible unofficial sources, that the influence of Mau Mau in the Kikuyu area, except in certain localities, has not declined; it has, on the contrary, increased; in this respect the situation has deteriorated and the danger of infection outside the Kikuyu area is now greater, not less, than In Nairobi, it was at the beginning of the State of Emergency ... the situation is both grave and acute. Mau Mau orders are

both from

official

Mau Mau

carried out in the heart of the city,

courts

sit

in

judgement and their ‘sentences’ are carried out by gangsters. There is evidence that the revenues collected by gangsters, which be considerable, are used for the purposes of bribery as well There is [also] a passive as for purchasing Mau Mau supplies resistance movement amongst Africans, an example of which is a

may

.

.

.

under which Africans have for several months boycotted European-owned buses ‘bus

boycott’

.

.

In addition to the visit of this Parliamentary Delegation, rumors were spreading that the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Oliver Lyttelton, was going to introduce a new constitution and form

a multi-racial Government. The Aberdare leaders were thus optimistic and, while pressing their demands for land and freedom, were proud of the fact, as they saw it, that they had achieved more in a year and a few months of fighting than African politicians had managed in over thirty years of talk.

With the breakdown of the surrender talks, and putting the information obtained from Gen. China to good use, Government launched a two-pronged campaign to isolate the forest guerrillas from their sources of food and supplies in the reserve and Nairobi. Operation Anvil, commencing on 24 April 1954, was a major Government operation involving some 25,000 soldiers and police. It was intended to crush resistance in Nairobi and halt the flow of recruits and supplies into the forest. The entire African population of Nairobi, some 100,000 persons, were rounded up and driven into a huge field where 70,000 Kikuyu, Embu and Meru were sorted out and screened. Those suspected or identified as members of the Movement were segregated and by train to several specially constructed detention or concentration camps. Their families and dependent relatives were

sent

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

332

picked up and returned to the Kikuyu reserve. This operation was phased out over several weeks and the total number of those detained mainly young men of warrior age between 16 and

—

35

—reached almost 50,000. There

question that Operation Anvil disrupted organized resistance in Nairobi and significantly curtailed the flow of is little

arms, ammunition, medical supplies, clothing and money into the Aberdares. It was followed by smaller-scale sweeps in

Kiambu, Thika and Fort Hall and bv a massive effort to cut the forest guerrillas off from the reserve. A Government strategem called the “villagization program”, initiated early in the year, was rapidly accelerated after Anvil. Used effectively by the British in Malaya, this program was an attempt

to

break

down

settlement pattern of the

the

traditional

dispersed-homestead

Kikuyu and place the Kikuyu peasantry

in easily guarded, prison-like villages, located handily near the

roads and grouped around

Home Guard

and

gested in these villages and unable to tend their

dusk-to-dawn

curfews

and

“communal”

Confields due to the Kikuyu

police posts.

labor,

peasantry was hit ever harder by hunger and disease. By the end of 1954 over a million Kikuyu had been resettled in these

camps, which were constructed with Kikuyu labor and materials under the supervision of Tribal Police.

village

A

program was carried out on the European farms and plantations of the Rift Valley, with field and house labor similar

contained within fortified villages. In addition to the “villagization program”, a fairly wide trench, fenced with barbed wire, planted with mines and bordered by

numerous military and

was dug by forced peasant labor teams along fifty miles of the forest fringe which separated the Aberdares and Mt. Kenya from the Kikuyu reserve. Governpolice posts,

ment, seemingly unable to defeat the guerrilla forces within the forest, was trying to starve them into the open, into security

ambushes or surrender. Though this Government strategy was not immediately successful, Aberdare groups were faced with an ever increasing problem of supplies and their relations with rural and urban supporters became more difficult and costly force

to sustain.

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT On

2nd February we

together with

all

set off to

Mburu Ngebo Army

333 led

by Kimbo,

IDA and some of the itungati. Gikuyu Iregi Army and a company of Kenya

the leaders of

i

Gen. Mbuthia of the Levellation under Gen. Rui accompanied our convoy of 210 warriors. It took us one and a half days walk to get to Kimbo’s

Mother area. We were welcomed by Gen. Kirihinya (Ngunjiri) and Col. Kahii ka Arume (Wambugu Mwema). Kimathi had visited that area about a year earlier during which time our fighters were mobilized. Kimathi was very happy to meet those itungati, who cheerfully greeted him. Here we were joined by Aram Ndirangu from Kipipiri Hill bringing the data he had collected. On the third day we held a general meeting. We met in a grassy open area under some big trees. About forty leaders and 75° itungati, representing mainly IDA and Mburu Ngebo Army (MNA), with four from Kenya Levellation Army and one from Gikuyu mbuci

Iregi

short

at Karathi’s

Army, were present. Kimathi introduced the meeting with a speech and report on the Kenya Defense Council work and

Kenya Young

When

I

Stars Association.

stood up to speak,

I

first

Trinity Council under the chairmanship of its

Ituma Ndemi Stanley Mathenge for

criticised the

failure to hold meetings in order to discuss

culties,

to

form plans,

our itungati

diffi-

and regulations, and make arrangearms and ammunition, money, clothes,

rules

ments on the supplies of food, etc., from Nairobi or district centers. I pointed out that the Council had never met since it was elected in May 1 953> though forest its Secretary, Kimathi, had been very active in most of the

remarked that the Council had limited its duties to their own itungati and that it had completely ignored the management over the reserve people. Many leaders had taken power into their hands, each acting on his own, whereby our leaders presented plans affairs. I

many of which contradict theirs, revealing to the reserve people that we are unorganized and showing our great weakness. ‘The Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council,’ I continued, ‘was a small and

rules

and could not organize the other disSeptember tricts. The Kenya Defense Council has met only once, in a at Murang’a, since its formation last August. Though this is Council that could organize the whole of Kenya, it was wrong for unit for Nyeri District only

was a member of the Council. The they were elected to be members of Kenya

us to admit that every leader leaders

do not

feel as

if

334

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

Defense Council

—and

in

stated that all the leaders are

that

happened a day before

The

criticise it then.

they were not elected.

fact

members

my

arrival at the meeting,

office bearers

who were

so that they can tell

leaders were available

it

of the Council

do not have a

absent; even

would be

list

We

only

and

since

I

did not

of the leaders

names of the them together to

the

if

difficult to get

a meeting. Each leader seems so busy with his own itungati that he can hardly spare any thoughts for all our itungati or open his eyes ,

in the reserves

beyond where he

is

known and where

his itungati

operated.

Kenya Defense Council was mostly conpoint of view. How could we be successful

‘Broadly speaking, the

cerned on the military'

without the masses help?

Who

were to supply us with our needs? Since all the leaders in the reserve were either arrested or fled into the forest, there is no hope for the masses to organize themselves

we organize them. We could not organize the reserves well unless we delegate that responsibility unto the hands of a few wise people who would understand that it is their duty to plan for the unless

others.

‘Our basic thought on forming the Kenya Young Stars Association led us to assume the African Government responsibility in our hands, but we lack a central organization. It surprises me when I realize that many of our leaders at present are working on either the locational or divisional level as the highest [level of] organization.

The

thing

we

lack

is

a

Kenya

central organization

which

should be the Government or the Parliament. I think it is high time we elected our Kenya Parliament members and let them run the country until the big stars, the moon and the sun will take

over the rule.

They

shall praise us for not letting

down our country

during their absence and the little we would have done would be of great importance in Kenya’s history, which will tell the Kenya Parliament was formed and maintained by uneducated warriors

Nyandarua

many

in

As the Kenya Parliament shall govern Kenya, the founders names shall live as long as the Kenya African Government shall live.’

My

for so

years.

from many leaders and itungati and we then resolved that we must elect members of a Kenya Parliament. The first issue was the number of the members. After a heated exchange of opinions it was agreed that since Jesus Christ had only twelve disciples, whose preaching has reached all over ideas gained support

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

335

should then elect twelve excluding Kimathi, the President of the Parliament. I supported the lower number because I felt the more members we had the less effective the Parliament

the world,

would

we

be.

next issue was the qualifications of a member. I took the lead strongly and opposed election based on geographical regions,

The

mere popularity,

relative

[i.e.,

kin]

or

friendship

feelings

—

for

were our greatest weaknesses. ‘I would like us to elect the best twelve persons we have in this forest so that we could have the best Government possible. Apart from education, we should look for the person’s wisdom and these

courage and incorruptible character. It does not matter whether the twelve members were all real brothers or from the same village or district; what we would count on would be that

ability, his

they are the best

we

have,

who

will

make

the best

are not fighting for regions or clans or tribes.

we

We

all

want.

We

are fighting for

Home

Guards and all the Africans employed in the enemy forces of KTP (Kenya 1 ribal Police), KAR and the police forces, for they will enjoy the freedom

the whole Kenya, including our enemies as

which would

will still

be so abundant that even enjoy the freedom

we

if

we imprisoned them,

they

are fighting for in the prisons;

we have a song demanding freedom in prisons which you all always sing. One of its verses says “Parents don’t be frightened. A baby born dies. Tell the community we must persevere. Until

for

:

banned in the prisons.” ‘Be sure that freedom would be so abundant that there would be no competition of some people trying to get more freedom than the others. Just as the rain pours to the rich as to the poor, to the good

color-bar

is

ones as to the bad ones, to the lazy person’s garden as to the industrious one’s, the same will happen to the freedom. Some of us may

by the time we achieve our freedom you will have learned to share a grain of maize or a bean amongst several people, feeling selfishness as an evil; and the hate of oppressing others would be so developed in you that you will not like to become another class of “Black” Europeans ready to oppress and exploit others just like the system we are fighting against. And. ‘I have to speak,’ shouted Major Windo, jumping in the center of the meeting. ‘If oration or leadership were a dance, I would dance naked in order to attract you. I know more about dance and I can compete at it; but I cannot compete in firing a rifle, for

seek privileges, but

’

.

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

336

though we can all fire exactly the same distance only very few of us would hit the target. I mean that everyone of us can stand here

and speak in a loud voice demanding supporters for this election, but very few of us have the qualities that Mr Njama mentioned. We now want quality but we have much quantity. Any person who would cast his vote because of relation, friendship, neighborhood, is an enemy to our progress. It is better to vote for an absent person whom you have confidence in than. ‘No!’ shouted Kahiu-Itina. Muti nduguagira mundu utari ho! (“A tree never falls on one not standing under it !”) If a bomb falls on this meeting it would kill us all but none of the people who are not in the meeting. It is wrong for us to elect a person without his personal approval for he might be unwilling or unprepared to do the work we elected him for. We better go on electing the people who are here on the understanding that the good they do will be for us all. If there happens to be better people absent from this meeting, I would say that it is not their day to be elected and that they would be better criticisers or advisers until their day of .’

.

.

‘

election comes.’

‘Today,’ said Ndiritu Thuita, ‘the leaders are speaking as

were their

last

final wills.

One

I

citizen.

this

opportunity, as though they are dedicating their thing

will share all

Kenya

if

its

I

am

certain of

is

goodness as well as

Since

we

all

that its

I

am

a

Kenya

citizen.

badness. So will every

admire goodness and have the same

and objects, I am certain that we could achieve that more easily and quickly in the hands of a few of our best people than when we would call the whole Kenya to a general meeting on which unagreeable views, opinions and feelings would arise and increase. We need not waste more time on comments. I would like ideas

opposers to speak.’

As there were no opposers, Kimbo stood up and made more comments and, as an illiterate person, challenged the educated persons for abandoning the revolution and advocated that educanot be regarded as a qualification in the election. He was opposed by ‘Dr’ King’ori who spoke well on behalf of the educated tion

people.

He

said that without education, without

of our educated people,

As a teacher

making

full

use

we were heading nowhere.

supported ‘Dr’ King’ori and stressed the importance of education, of both academic and cultural knowledge. I was certain that

I

many

of our fighters thought of the future in

[i.e.,

as

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT a projection

of]

337

the past. In fact, the past was vivid while know-

ledge of the future was obstructed by the hatred of the white

man

and partly by our political leaders’ failure in informing the masses on the future of the country. I cut across this, telling them that we would select all the good our forefathers had and throw away any habit, custom or manner, or any traditions that would not suit us; and the same thing to the European culture. We would accept all that we thought was good for us and leave out what we thought did not fit us. We would then be able to form a new Kenya on our own patterns like neither our fore-

and

his

fathers’

culture,

nor the Europeans’.

‘Mind you,’ I continued, ‘that by modern progress we must learn on the European side, for it contributes most of our modern needs ranging from education to machinery, techniques and standard of life. Though we feel that abandoning our customs and tradition is a sign of defeat and going back to many of them already forgotten is a traditional pride, it would be impractical to go back into our forefathers’ days as it would be impractical for anyone to go back into his or her mother’s womb. Every generation makes its own customs, invents its songs and dances, makes its rules and regulawhich all die a natural death with that generation. Though a few remarks of the outgoing generation may remain, nothing remains forever, as man always continues to invent new and better things than he has, which causes him to use the latter and abandon tions,

the former.’

‘You have now lost your path, Mr Njama,’ said Kimathi. ‘Let me bring you back to the path. The issue is the Kenya Parliament elections, which I wholeheartedly support. Since we have already agreed on many points, I think the remaining question is how to elect the twelve members. Should we name two dozen or more

which we shall elect the number we want? Or just name them and ask their supporters to raise hands or ask the supporters to stand behind the person they want so that we can count how many persons support each candidate. Or if you know any better method, stand and let us know.’ Shouting that I had a better method, I stood up. ‘The best elecleaders out of

by secret ballots. Firstly, the people who seek election are given a chance to speak to the people about their ideas and leadership, and promises the electorate what they stand for and what they would do for them. Here, after my speech, I tion all over the

world

is

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

338

would like all those who want whether we could get a chance the election

up and see Secondly, comes

to be elected to stand

for each to speak.

name

Every elector writes or marks the

itself.

of the

candidate he wants to elect and then puts his card in a ballot box.

known how many persons have supported every candidate. When we raise hands, your friend sees that you did not raise your hand for him or you did not stand behind him. Some people are not sure who to elect and look for the person who seems to have more people and they Each candidate’s

votes are counted

and then

it is

would join there. Again. ‘What about those who do not know how .

to write?’ enquired

one gitungati. ‘In

many

countries they use pictures such as a cow, tree, car,

name

airplane, etc., to represent the

of a particular person

and

making a mark on the symbol one wants to elect, he then drops it in the ballot box. Here, today, I would suggest that we give each person a piece of paper and let him secretly write the after

One person only, and then drop it in one of these hats. For those who do not know how to write, they should secretly consult those who are able to write and ask them to write the name of the person [each] wants name

of the person he or she wishes to elect.

to elect.’

‘Any further comments would mean waste of Muraya Mbuthia. ‘Start now distributing paper.

enough that

time,’ said

We

have heard have ever heard of.

will lead us in the best election I

already 3 130 p.m. and night would fall before election if more people are allowed to speak.’ It

is

‘All those

who want

to be elected, stand

up

Kimathi introduced

ing their names, records,

army

education,

etc.,

affiliation,

finish this

in the center

all thirty-three, just

mention-

ranks, past activities, personal

while clerks were distributing pieces of

paper to our warriors. ‘Everyone here,’ said Kimathi, ‘including those

must write

we

in the center,’ said

Kimathi. Thirty-three leaders, including myself, stood of the meeting.

Gen.

ONE

who

are seeking

name; the best person you know. Make sure that you do not tell anybody whom you elect. When you finish writing, fold your paper and put it in one of the hats that are moved around by the collectors.’ After collection, a big sheet was laid in the center of the meeting. election,

All votes were

just

person’s

dropped on the

sheet.

Some

thirty-three itungati,

;

.

.

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT each holding a hat, were called

339

in the center of the circle.

hat had a piece of paper on which a leader’s

name was

Each

A

written.

group of clerks started sorting out the votes and putting each leader’s votes in the hat bearing his name. After sorting, we started counting the votes. [Here are the

Dedan Kimathi

.

IDA

i;

most votes

Vice Pres.

Gen.

(2)

President [By unspoken consensus.]

.

Gen. Kahiu-Itina (Muruthi Mathi),

(1) Brig. .

.

.

results.]

Kimbo Mutuku

Mukua),

(Theuri

MNA

;

2nd

.

.

Treasurer

IDA

(3)

Kaiari Njama,

(4)

Gen. Ndiritu Thuita,

(5)

Gen. Abdullah (Gitonga Muthui),

3 /3

3rd

IDA

1

/

Chief Secretary

.

.

1

;

4th

.

.

.

Deputy Secretary

IDA

1/3; 5th ... Vice

Treasurer (6)

Major Vindo (Ndururi

IDA

Gitika),

1

/

1

;

6th

Gen. Kirihinya (Ngunjiri), MNA; 7th MNA; 8th (8) Gol. Kahii ka Arume (Wambugu Mwema), IDA; 9th (9) Brig. Gathitu Waithaka, (10) Gen. Muraya Mbuthia, GIA; 10th (1 1) Major Omera (Ndiritu Wang’ombe), MNA; 1 ith (7)

(12)

Gen. Rui,

KLA;

12th

Kenya and prayed God, asking him to bless, guard and guide our Kenya Parliament members and grant them power and wisdom. It was already six when we finished prayers and we all moved towards the camp. After dinner we amused ourselves with singing and dancing and

When

military

The

all

was

drill.

over,

We

we

stood facing Mt.

happy and contented with the election. the elected members met and elected six

all felt

following day

all

office bearers, [indicated above.]

We

then discussed

how we

could

reorganize the reserve in order to increase the flow of supplies.

We

some known members in the reserves and ask them to find out what had happened to fees and dues at both the location and division levels. We wrote letters of appointment to some members who would reorganize the reserve as Divisional Officers. We told them that ammunition, medicine, clothing and stationery should be sent to the Kenya Parliament which would decided to write

distribute

them

letters to

to our fighters.

were not available then every

We man

suggested that

if

the old funds

should contribute ten shillings

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

340

and every woman, including girls, food supply would remain in the

five shillings.

local

leaders’

We

agreed that

hands and un-

changed.

On plans.’

we concentrated our

behalf of our fighters,

We

agreed to instruct

all

talks

our fighters to

on ‘attacking

start destroying

any enemy property by all means; to use fire to bum all the grass, corn fields, wheat and barley, stores and houses; to steal and spray the grass with cattle dip so that cattle and sheep will die of that poison; to use pangas or swords to cut down coffee, tea, fruits and

any enemy property come

across.

We

agreed that members of

any kind of raid and that it was both unwise and unnecessary [for themj to leave the forest for any purpose. All other leaders should satisfy all the personal needs of a Kenya Parliament member in any camp he

Kenya Parliament should not

might

We

participate in

be.

agreed that the

first

session of the

Parliament should discuss

and regulations and send out missions to all the bordering tribes and recruit them in order to increase our strength and refute the settlers’ allegation that only the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are struggling for freedom and that the other tribes didn’t know what was freedom and they didn’t like it and weren’t in need of lands. We resolved that the President and the Chief Secretary would be responsible for calling all the sessions, i.e., fixing the date and place of meeting, and dispatching information letters to the members which should include the agenda to be discussed. We also agreed that every member should send his proposed agenda to the rules

Secretary at least a fortnight before the meeting date.

then dispersed and to our

On

all

of us from

The meeting

Chania and Ruthaithi returned

former mbuci.

our arrival

in the Ruthaithi area I

departed from Kimathi on

had to collect data from the Levellation Army company under Gen. Rui before they left the forest. On arriving at Rui’s temporary camp, situated by a small stream close to the reserve, I was greatly shocked to learn that Gen. China was injured and captured on 15th January, in a strong battle in the reserve, while operating with the Kenya Levellation Army. Gen. China was the only man who had been sent by Kimathi in May 1953 from Nyandarua, as Capt. Waruhiu Itote, and ordered to organize all the Mt. Kenya fighters and take back the report to Kimathi. the account that

I

1

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

34

During our discussion about China’s fate, a gitungati interrupted our talk and said that a girl named Wanjiru from Aguthi Location was accused of being a police informer. I called a few leaders to assist

me

in

hearing the

girl’s case.

I

ordered other

girls to

search

her for any stamp, poison or document from the police. They didn’t find anything in her possession that could make witness that she

was an informer. The witnesses said she had lived in a police post for a month and all her companions were informers who had spied several of our Kenya Levellation fighters, who were all killed inside a hut at midday. Three of the captured girls had given all the names of other informers, including Wanjiru’s, and had revealed that they all had taken a ‘Kikuyu Musical Oath’ administered by the police, binding the initiate to become loyal to the

Government and an informer

the

of

The

revolution.

witnesses

concluded the police used poultry blood stored in bottles to administer the counter-Mau Mau oath but failed to explain how the oath was taken. When I cross-examined the witness as to what they had done with the three girls, he replied that they had killed them. When I asked Wanjiru whether the witnesses were speaking the truth, she replied, ‘Partly.’

‘Then tell us the truth,’ I said. ‘I have stayed for a month at Kia Ruia Police Post in Aguthi Location,’ said the girl. ‘We were forced to take the Musical Oath which is generally administered while the others were dancing in

room and we were forced ance warranted our death. Some the next

Our

to sleep with them.

of us surrendered

reluct-

and became

true informers, as the witnesses said, but a few of us only ensured our lives. I have been in Gen. Rui’s company for one and a half

have been asked to collect food, spy the enemy or be a sentry for a whole day. I have witnesses here who would say that they have seen me talking to police or Home Guards several times, yet instead of helping the enemy I have

months. In

many

helped

company

this

Gen. Rui,

to tell

occasions

you

as

of

I

much

my

as

I

could.

I

would

like

my

leader,

activities.’

‘Gentlemen,’ said Rui, ‘the

girl

has spoken what

I

think contains

much truth, but I have no confidence in her for having stayed with me for almost two months without reporting that she had taken such an oath. Though it is difficult for me to comment about her, I

would say that she

is

standing on the fence.’

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

342 ‘I

will die

with her!’ shouted a gitungati armed with a Sten gun

standing 30 yards away. ‘And ‘Get away !’ ordered Rui. ‘I

mean what

‘We

I

say,’ replied

many

of

you

will share her grave.’

the gitungati. ‘She

also love her,’ said Rui, ‘and

is

have no enmity.

my

lover.’

Go away and

await her in the evening.’

‘Keep your word!’ said the gitungati

,

turning

away and

dis-

appearing. I

ordered the

be escorted by strong guards and kept away

girl to

from hearing what we were saying. For a moment we discussed the gitungati forgetting the girl. But before we resolved anything, ,

the gitungati returned with other

armed

won’t accept that whenever a person

is

:

‘We

he

will

itungati saying

rejected

by a

girl

accuse her of being an informer. ‘For heaven sake,’

I

shouted, standing up. ‘Have confidence in

me, please I am rightly conducting this case for your own sake without any favor. There is no secret about it. If I find anything significant, I shall ask these leaders, together with all the fighters !

in this area, to witness

it.’

‘Thank you very much,’ said the gitungati. ‘Please allow me to become her witness.’ ‘Yes, you will be allowed,’ I said, ‘if you stay away until you are called.’

‘O.K.

I

would await

for

your

call,’

said the gitungati

,

going

away.

Now

the leaders

felt

insulted

and

distressed.

We

became

sceptical

whether the gitungati was inflamed as a petty lover or whether he and others might have taken the same oath. We resolved that while slow and strong investigation would take place, all our fighters should be informed of the oath and that each should be aware that Government might send its informers to live with us. The girl was called and on her arrival was asked to explain the instructions given her by the police. ‘We were all told,’ said Wanjiru, ‘to inform the police or Government forces where the fighters might be hiding and report their number and strength. Secondly, we were to trick a fighter, two or more, into the hands of the Government forces. Thirdly, we were each given five poison tablets by the corporal in charge. He told us that each tablet was sufficient to kill one of the top leaders

when put

in his food.

Each

of us

vowed

to exterminate at least five

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT may

of the top leaders wherever they

or prison, by using the poison.

343

be, in the forest, detention

Some women have been

supplied

with the same poison after taking that oath so that they will

kill

their husbands.’

‘What

else did

you swear?’ asked

Jeriko.

swore not to claim for land and freedom anymore and that the White Highland was for the whiteman; that I will never again ‘I

Mau

help

Mau.'

‘Can you confess

all

you have

told us before all

our itungati ?’

I

queried. ‘Yes,’ replied

Wanjiru.

‘Do you know any

fighter in

Government oath?’ I asked. ‘No. Those who were converted all in

forest

this

that has taken that

become

to

true informers are

the reserve,’ replied Wanjiru.

me

‘Would you show

those informers

when we

get there?’ asked

Rui. ‘Yes,’ replied

‘Give

me

she

their

girl.

names

!’

I

demanded.

women and girls and concluded she did not know any fighter who had taken the oath though knew police and Home Guards who had taken the oath.

She gave that

the

me

a

list

of seventeen

Gen. Rui carried the list of the informers so that his company would be able to check them as soon as it returned to the reserve.

We

our fighters and get Wanjiru to confess before them. We asked Rui to keep an eye on the girl and her lover. After Wanjiru had confessed to all our fighters, I criticised resolved to call

all

-

the gitungati of falling into blind love girls

had become the

Kenya

Levellation

and warned the others that

bait for trapping our fighters, mostly the

Army

in

the reserve, basing

my

argument on

Wanjiru’s confession.

The

gitungati confessed of his ignorant utterances.

Wanjiru, though

many

We

cleared

of the leaders remained sceptical of her

true stand.

The

following day,

thousands of

leaflets

Government

airplanes

spread

in

the air

containing Gen. China’s photo, and the

air-

planes appealed to our fighters through their big loudspeakers to surrender, taking green branches with us. The surrender appeal

had become monotonous

to our ears;

it

had

started soon after the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

344

commenced bombing

Lincoln heavy bombers ‘Today, your food

is

being brought;

it

is

the forests

—saying

:

the gift of bombs. Surren-

der today, carrying a green branch. Take the road leading to

with your arms and you will be welcomed by the Devons.’ This imploring appeal by Government for our surrender only

proved to us that the Government had been unable in the fight

and that was the reason why

us to surrender.

We

Government would

A

held that

if

we

it

insisted

to defeat us

on entreating

did not surrender, then the

definitely surrender.

warrior returned with one of the

leaflets

containing Gen.

an important leader had been captured and that there was no use of our going on fighting. Rui and I discussed the leaflet, agreeing that it was another Government propa-

China’s photo.

ganda

It said that

trick.

mbuci with Capt. Binihalis and another gitungati heading to Binihalis’ mbuci. The armed gitungati led our way through an animal path that was overgrown with scrub. Suddenly, we collided with an elephant which came into sight only five yards from us. The elephant blew its trumpet and

The

we

following day,

retreated,

I

running at

left

the

life’s

time with Binihalis leading

us.

speed.

We

We

took another path, this

kept on talking about the

ele-

phant and the difficulties each had when running. Feeling quite safe from the elephant, we talked loudly. Surprisingly, the enemy in front of us opened their Sten guns on us as Binihalis pulled

away

and the enemy. Instead of did, the gitungati and I turned

the shrub that lay between us

retreating to our path as Binihalis

and ran down into a small valley. We paused to listen whether we could hear Binihalis’ movement. We didn’t hear him, but we heard the enemy laughing and saying that our group must have casualties. We were both safe but were only worried about to the right

Binihalis.

We

arrived in the

camp

in

the afternoon

and found

Binihalis

ground on his stomach, his nose touching the ground. His shirt on the back was full of blood. He asked me whether we were safe. I told him that we were safe, removing his bloody shirt. T hrough observation, a Sten gun bullet had entered his chest from his back making a small hole between the ribs. The bullet had stopped right inside his chest; he was puffing out froth containing blood which [made] me suspect that the lungs were lying on the

injured.

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

345

dampened a clean cloth with diluted acriflavine and placed it well on the wound and then covered it with a piece of plaster. I moved with the patient into a new hospital which I used as my office while treating the only patient. His outer wound healed within seven days. On the I

wound by methylated

cleansed his

eleventh day of his injury,

I

spirit,

discharged the patient at his request

he was completely cured and as healthy as though the bullet had become a part of his body; it might before form a cyst, I thought, and I remained sceptical of his future health; he might die of that bullet in the future.

and being

satisfied that

—

Reports from

all

parts of the reserve continued to pour in con-

Army, which had become a strong and brave force and engaged in almost daily day battles with the Government forces right in the reserves and towns in most of which our warriors were very successful. The fights, which often took place in the eyes of women and children, increased encouragement to our sympathizers and [brought] great praise onto our side. As the women broke into cheerful songs praising our fighters, they angered the Home Guards who took drastic measures of revenge against them. A competition emerged between the Home Guards, assisted by the Government forces, and our Kenya Levellation Army which ruined our country. Firstly, the fountain of blood flowing from every Central Province ridge drowning thousands of lives to hell; secondly, the fires that consumed thousands of houses and property therein, set ablaze by the Home Guards under gratulating the

Kenya

the supervision of their

Levellation

KPR

officers

[and destroying]

all

the houses

surrounding the battle ground. Thirdly, clearing the reserve bushes, an order which regarded the crops in the gardens as bushes and cleared maize, millet, sugar canes, bananas, yams,

etc.,

with the

intention to accelerate hunger. Fourthly, strong curfew orders

and

movement, stopping all works including the collecting of some edible roots from the gardens or from the markets. The livestock were left uncared for as the Home Guards who were attending them became more engaged in the fight. Though the livestock turned to be the chief source of Home Guard food, thousands of them became weak and died just as their restricting all

owners.

Some battles

of the

Kenya

might be useful

Levellation songs invented to record their to illustrate

some of those

battles.

!

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

346 (1)

and hear

Listen

Of

the

Tumu Tumu

So that you

And

this story

may

Hill

realize that

never abandon

will

God

is

with us

us.

was on a Wednesday We were in a village down the valley It

The enemy decided

to climb

In order to see Kikuyuland

When

struck

two

in the

afternoon

Waruanja was

sent

down

the valley

Dressed

woman

it

like

a

In order to spy

He

brought back a valuable message

That Kirimukuyu was guarded by

security forces

Down

fighters

in the valley there

Whom Good

the

were 400

Government intended

to

surround

came our way

fortune

In the form of a

girl

Named Kanjunio [who

returned with Waruanja’s message]

Who

lives

saved a thousand

When

A

it

two

struck

thunderous noise was heard from atop the

Bren guns were

from every direction But God helped us and we descended safely

Gakuru gave

firing

his

own

life

To save the lives of his friends He lit a fire [i.e., threw a grenade] And the machine guns ceased their

When we

We

reached the valley

found parents

Coming down

To

in tears

the hill

witness the death of their sons

firing

hill

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

347

The above song was invented by Gen. Kariba's group of the Kenya Levellation Army to commemorate their fight on the Tumu

Tumu (2)

Hill in the

Who

was

When The The

Mathira Division of Nyeri. in

Timau

the children of

Mumbi

‘Thundani’s’

airfield at

attacked

?

planes were their wonders

Chorus

Listen and be told a story

:

By

mbuci

the boys of the

Who

have seen a great deal

Wherever they wander or roam

When Thundani came He ran very quickly He was with his wife and He wanted to surprise us

We To

were

fully

prepared

enter Thundani’s

A home

her friend

home

fenced with stone

Topped with broken

bottles

The Major stood to relieve Of Mumbi’s children

He

told them, ‘Don’t

For Abdullah

is

the fears

worry

!’

going to lead you

The Major also said ‘When you go in Break the cases and search Until you find the

fire

arms’

Kenyatta’s kingdom was blessed by his father, Gikuyu

He

bang the

head So that the children of Gikuyu will eat will

The (The

tree with his

fruit that falls to the last

verse

is

ground.

a Kikuyu proverb showing the great love

of a parent for his children.)

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

348 (3)

It

was on a Tuesday evening

In a house

down

the valley

The enemy decided to come up And see the Kikuyu country Chorus

On

:

Be happy, parents The trouble is over in Kikuyuland

Be happy

our arrival

Our

!

!

in the valley

was hoisted the Government

flag

When They

forces

saw

it

took cover

Kariba said with ‘All the whistles

his

word

be up’

And when this signal was given The bullets started pouring like water Kariba said again

We’d

The And

better

move from

people’s fight in

When

homes the banana

valley

advancing very near

Ndungu’s

fig tree

The enemy was cautioned By the sound of machine gun

When we

fire

arrived

At Ndungu’s

fig tree

Rongu long fired his machine gun And scared away the Government

On days

forces

4th February Gen. China was sentenced to death and ten later,

while

I

was

still

in

Ruthaithi area, Kimathi received a

by China asking that he send two men to represent the Nyandarua fighters in negotiations with Government about surrender terms. Though I cannot reproduce the letter exactly, the following is [what I recall of] the letter from China to Kimathi. typed copy of a

letter signed

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

349

Dear Kimathi, You must have learned that on 15th January I was injured and captured. I am now writing you from the police custody. I have tried to present our demands to the Government through their interrogation. At this stage, I understand the Government is quite willing to put down arms and discuss our difficulties and if possible settle them in peace. Firstly,

we are we had

I

am

losing

very worried about the

hundreds of

lives daily.

our fighters for you agreed with me

lives of

If

better stop this bloodshed.

Below are questions which the Government has asked me. To answer these questions, I would like you to send two representatives from Nyandarua and two from Kirinyaga who will answer the questions and negotiate about the general surrender in which I would be a participant. 1. Why are you fighting? 2. What must be done so that all fighters will come out of the forest with all their arms? 3. What would you do if you fail to get land and freedom? 4. If you achieved land and freedom what would you do to ‘

5.

thata cia bururi

Would you the

(loyalists, traitors,

Home

Guards)?

agree to suspend the fight during the

Government

is

willing

and ready

talks, for

to stop the fight until

the end of the talks. 6.

Do you

see this as a

Government

trap

?

you continue to fight to the last man’s drop of blood, who would then be given land and freedom? I have promised the Government that the talks will be successful and now I expect to come to the end of our fight and try peaceful talks to settle our demands; don’t let me down on that 7.

If

account.

Yours, (Signed)

During the next few days individually to Nyandarua sengers from other camps.

me

to write the 15 leaders

15 copies of this leaders,

I

Waruhiu same

were brought

saw Kimathi

at

Itote

letter,

to

us

addressed

by mes-

Thaina and he asked

and the members of the Kenya

ment informing them of an urgent in China’s envelopes and gave them

session.

I

enclosed

Parlia-

my

to Icatha for dispatch.

letter

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

350

While we were discussing China’s letter with Kimathi, a girl named Wamu arrived from Mt. Kenya with a message from Gen. Tanganyika who had succeeded Gen. China. His letter said that the fighters in Mt. Kenya had been greatly upset by losing Gen. China, the leader they all had confidence in. Tanganyika said that he had not gained full control over the unsettled fighters and that he would like Kimathi to pay a visit to Mt. Kenya’s fighters as quickly as possible so that he would be able to reorganize and advise them before they were downhearted. After reading Tanganyika’s letter we agreed we should visit Mt.

Kenya Form

as soon as the 1

school

girl,

Parliament settled China’s

who had

letter.

Wamu,

a

joined the fighters, had been staying

with China. She was bright, expressive and

She told us of meeting Gen.

fearless.

much about Mt. Kenya and the possibilities Ndaya of Embu and Gen. M’Inoti of Meru.

Four days later, the Kenya Parliament held its first session with Gen. Rui as the only absentee. Many other leaders were invited to the meeting. The session lasted two days, at the end of which Gen. Ndiritu Thuita and I were elected to attend negotiation talks with the Kenya Government whenever His Excellency the Governor of Kenya, Sir E. Baring and Gen. Sir Erskine, East African Commander-in-Chief will respond and agree to our requests in the

we

letter

We

addressed to them, giving each a copy.

answered the questions

in

China’s letter and gave some

conditions which had to be fulfilled in order to prove to us that the

Government was

Answers 1.

willing to negotiate with us.

to the questions

We

:

are fighting for our lands

—the Kenya Highlands which

from the Africans by the Crown through the Orders in Council 1915 °f the Crown Lands Ordinance which evicted Africans from their lands at present occupied by the settlers or

was

stolen

reserved for their future generations while landless Africans are starving of hunger or surviving on the laborers

to

the settlers

who were

same land

as the

cheap

granted that land by the

Crown.

we come out of the forest, the British Government must grant Kenya full independence under the African leadership, and also hand over all the alienated lands to Kenya 2.

Before

1

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

35

African Government which will redistribute the land to

its

citizens. If

3.

we do

to fight

our

till

not get land and freedom now,

the

Government

yields or the last

we

will continue

drop of blood of

last fighter is spilt.

If

4.

we

achieve land and freedom,

thata cia bururi, for

we

we would

are sure that they are either foolish or

they have not other ways of ensuring their

Government other than

forgive all the

under your instructed by your lives

and destroy as ‘Choose the whites, officers. We have a battle song which says save the blacks, for they are working under their foolishness.’ to kill

:

After

we

all,

are certain that

all

these loyalists are our real

and our beloved

brothers, sisters, parents, in-laws

friends.

Blood

part

Our traditional beliefs cannot allow us to with our relatives. The following Kikuyu saying will prove

this

to be true

is

thicker than water.

:

‘

Rurira rutithambagio rui

(‘The navel cord

meaning that one cannot under any circumstances deny his relative; even if one went to wash himself in a river he would still remain the same blood he can never be washed away

is

ni

trying to denounce.

Or

nyoka! (The snakes son

in

a

river’),

Mwana wa nyoka Now it is war time;

a Swahili saying, is

still

a snake).

and war means destruction of everything without recognizing children or their parents. War simply means taking away lives and wealth. The most civilized and advanced nations have failed to stop war as they believe that war is the only safeguard against slavery, oppression and exploitation by others. War seems to be a natural rule

—the

survival of the

fittest

to all

creatures. 5.

We

are not going to stop fighting during the negotiation

Both

talks.

will continue until

representatives in the talks

an agreement

who

is

reached by our

could only convince us to stop

fighting.

we have seen that it is a Government trap, but we will throw a stick of wood in it and see its reaction. If we could release the spring we shall walk over it safely. 7. It is now almost one and a half years since the declaration 6.

Yes,

of the

emergency. Every day since then you have been trying

your best to destroy us completely, using nearly 100,000 strong forces and dropping thousands of bombs on us from your jet fighters, Harvards and the heavy Lincoln bombers. All your

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

352

work day and night trying to finish us off, but our God is great and you have not been successful, and you will not succeed. Though you think we are unarmed compared to your strength, we stand for right and God will defend the right. We are confident of our victory. Even if you kill all the Central forces

now

Province people, the land and freedom

—

it

is

Kenya tribes inevitable. You may quiet

demand

will

still

lose

your empire

impeding Kenya’s independence. If you want us to negotiate with you, you must firstly disarm the Home Guards and remove your forces completely out of the Central Province where they are killing women and children, raping and robbing them and forcing them here in the in the course of

with

forest to fight

us.

Secondly, demolish the newly established unsanitary villages,

and military bases and

police posts his

let

every person return to

former homestead.

Thirdly, release Fourthly, open Fifthly, bring

all all

the revolution prisoners

and

detainees.

the schools you have closed down.

D. N.

A. R. Kapila and Ralph Bunch

Pritt,

to the negotiation talks so that they will advise

and draft our

agreement.

we would

meet

Mr Jomo

Kenyatta or his representative from Lokitaung, Mr Chief Koinange, Mr James Beauttah, Mr E. W. Mathu, M.L.C., Mr W. W. W. Awaori, Finally,

Mr W.

M.L.C., and

like

to

Odede, M.L.C.

We demand

the signatures

of all the persons mentioned in this letter confirming their par-

There will be no negotiations the absence of the above mentioned people.

ticipation in the negotiation talks. talks in

The

was

by Kimathi and myself on behalf of the Kenya Parliament and was dispatched making sure that it letter

would be posted

The nearby

jointly signed

in

Nyeri the following day.

leaders left for their

own camps,

The meeting ended. others promising to

leave at sunrise.

The

fighters

who

delivered the letter to the reserve returned the

following day with a message that Gen. Tanganyika and three

had been captured by the Government. They claimed that they had received China’s letters asking them to go and negotiate about the surrender. After showing the police their others

fighters

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

353

they were taken to Gen. China in police custody. 1 he

letters,

people did not

know more than

this.

The news was very distressing to me and Kimathi. We felt as if all the Mt. Kenya fighters might be induced by their leaders to surrender. We wrote an urgent letter addressed to ‘All Mount Kenya Fighters.’ We warned them not to surrender even if their

We

warned them not to participate in the false negotiation talks until it was fully proved by the leaders in Nyandarua to be worthy. We asked them to send some of their fighters through Gen’s. Kariba and Rui who would guide and guard us from Nyandarua to Kirinyaga. We told them that we had formed a Kenya Parliament which would be responsible to all the fighters affairs. We promised them that if any talk will ever be held, the Mt. Kenya fighters will elect two representatives. We ended the letter by pointing out that we were very much distressed and suffered the same feelings as they did for the loss of the two prominent leaders. We hoped that their successors might be as good leaders surrendered.

as the

captured leaders.

We

Kariba and Rui. In a couple of days we received news that Mt. Kenya fighters had sent sent copies of the letter to Gen’s.

Government so that they could negotiate. The latter group told the Government that they had been sent by the fighters to get China and Tanganyika back into the forest to four other fighters to the

explain things to them. Their appeal to the fighters, at their

own

having been released from the police custody, would be a sufficient proof for the Mt. Kenya fighters to surrender. The Government agreed to release Gen. Tanganyika and all his party except China to go back into the Mt. Kenya forest and convince all the other fighters to surrender. They were supplied with liberty,

new

pairs of clothings, shoes, watches, tinned foodstuffs, loaves of

bread, and were driven back into the forest in a Special Branch Land Rover. They shook hands with the Government representa-

and then disappeared into the forest. The Government waited for the Mt. Kenya fighters to surrender but they did not. Gen. Tanganyika resumed his leadership in Kirinyaga. In a couple of days they had spent talking with Government’s representatives, they had learned that the Government only wanted our fighters to surrender and that there was no real negotiations. We waited for the reply to our letter from the Government, but all in vain, for the Government never replied. tives

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

354 Toward

the middle of March, Kimathi, his clerk

Abdullah’s mbuci , situated in the eastern dry

and

I

bamboo

were

in

area of

Ruhuruini Hill facing Nyeri Hill. It was a bright sunny day and we were reading Napoleon’s Book of Fate, consulting it of [i.e., regarding] our fates, when a gun bursted about 50 yards from us. As we started away, someone shouted for us to stop running. We paused and Kimathi angrily enquired who had fired it. ‘It was an accident, Sir,’ replied Wamuthandi. As we returned to the place we were, we saw that many itungati had gathered where the accident occurred. Kimathi told me to see what happened. On my arrival to the gathering, I found a

member

of the

stomach

in the center of a circle.

Kenya

Parliament, Gathitu Waithaka, lying on his

He had

taken off his shirt and a

very small Sten gun hole could be seen on his back just below the last rib on the

left.

He was

not bleeding.

I

asked whether the

had gone through, and was informed that it had stopped in his stomach. I asked how it happened. Kimathi arrived while Wamuthandi was explaining it to me how they were cleaning their guns and how' the bullet accidentally bursted from the hands of a gitungati who had been cleaning his Sten gun. Kimathi said that he wanted all the persons who were there during the accident. The leaders who were there and Gathitu himself witnessed that it was an accident. Gathitu stood up and said that he was going to meet an unfortunate death through no ones will. Expressing his feelings he said, ‘Though I can speak and walk, I am afraid that the bullet might have touched my liver. Below the bullet’s path I am feeling cold, almost freezing, while the upper part is very hot.’ We encouraged him that he was not going to die. Kimathi bullet

—

ordered that he be taken to a private place near the Kenya Young Stars Memorial Hall where we had held the annual prayers.

Kimathi sent me to Ruthaithi to wait for Gen. Rui so that his group would lead us to Mt. Kenya. A week later I learned that Gathitu Waithaka, our beloved member of Kenya Parliament, had died.

was here, at Jeriko’s mbuci that I received a number of reports of what came to be known as the ‘Kayahwe Massacre.’ In the month of February some 2,000 fighting recruits left Nairobi It

,

to join our fighters in the

Nyandarua

forest.

These

recruits, fully

uniformed and partially armed, made their way through Murang’a

:

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

355 where they were received by Gen. Kago Mboko, then commanding six hundred experienced and well-armed fighters of the Kenya Levellation Army in the Kandara Division. Kago, being fully convinced that his men were able to attack Kandara Government base,

which was a major military post

decided to attack the

the

it

at io a.m.

when

fleeing.

Our

Hall District,

When

our fighters opened fire on resistance at first; but when

Kandara post, there was a little Government forces learned that they were

by our advancing forces they

on

in the Fort

fled

away.

Many

fighters entered the post

outnumbered them were killed

greatly of

and

set all

its

houses

fire.

Kago

group into small units in order to avoid being cordoned by Government forces and at the same time to be able to get a sufficient supply of food from After this successful attack,

split his

other locations.

One in the

of the groups of

men from

Nairobi encamped for the night

bracken zone bordering the Nyandarua

morning, these recruits

ment had

laid

set off for the forest

an ambush

for

them which

forest.

The

following

not knowing the Governresulted in the greatest

we suffered in our struggles against Government. It was at Kayahwe River in Forst Hall that Government surrounded 92 of the men and closed in to attack. Being inexperi-

single set-back

enced, the men, seeing that they were completely surrounded,

hands and surrendered. They were then told to down all their possessions and take off their clothes. When this over, the 92 men were shot in cold blood. After the massacre of these men, the other forces which encamped within the area entered Nyandarua safely under raised their

leadership of Gen. Kago.

The

fate of the 92

men was

only

put

was

had the dis-

covered when two of their group arrived a short time later, having been left by Government for dead with their 90 comrades. Their

was confirmed by our sympathizers who had been forced to accompany the Home Guards in that patrol and who witnessed

story

the incident.

To commemorate Kayahwe Kayahwe Kayahwe This

is

this loss,

a song was sung

is

a very bad river

is

a very bad river

is

a very bad river

in the forests

where our heroes were exterminated

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

356

go go go

I’ll

go mother,

I’ll

I’ll

I’ll

I’ll

go mother, go mother,

I’ll

go and see Kayahwe

I’ll

General Ihura gets no sleep General Kago gets no sleep

Our warriors get no sleep They sleep not when remembering Kayahwe Gen. Kago, an ambidextrous

man who

fired

gained a reputation before his death [on 31 light battle] of

with his

March 1954

being one of our bravest fighters.

very dangerous areas of Fort Hall reserve and

is

He

left

in

hand, a day-

fought in the

said to

have waged

stand-up daylight battles against the security forces in the area. verse from a song sung by his group proves his bravery

A

‘Kago s/o Mboko ordered the rifles removed from our shoulders and held in hands; and that we take firing positions and load our rifles. No Iregi [i.e., an early generation-set] exists, though they didn’t take up arms.’

When

Gen. Rui failed to turn up within two weeks,

and met Kimathi again

at Ghieni.

He

gave

me

a

:

I left

new

Ruthaithi

pair of yellow

corduroy pants, black shoes, a new watch, two fountain pens, a woolen shirt and a light black raincoat. I was very thankful for the clothings, which

made me

look like a leader.

Kimathi asked me to write letters to the Kenya Parliament members and ask them to attend the second session to be held at Nyaga s mbuci at 7 haini River. When the leaders arrived,

May] we held our meeting under a rectangular rain-shelter in the thicket of bamboo. We sat on bamboo seats built all around the walls on which we leaned. [toward the middle of

We

opened the meeting with two minutes of silence while standing in memory of our deceased comrade, Gathitu Waithaka. I said opening prayers and then we all sat down. Gen. Rui and Wambugu Mwema were absent. Kimathi opened the meeting by asking the members to elect a person

found

who would it

replace Gathitu. After a short discussion,

difficult to elect

or nominate anyone.

We

we

resolved that

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT Kenya Parliament members must be

357

elected at a general meeting

held annually. I

read the previous session’s minutes.

We

resolved that China’s

and a great attempt to capture the best leaders. China’s talk was followed by the Nairobi Operation Anvil, [beginning on 24th April] which resulted to the arrest and detention of more than 40,000 persons, mostly young men who could join the fighting. In the reserves our agents were negotiation was Government’s

lie,

and detained and many were killed. It followed that His Excellency the Governor of Kenya pardoned China’s death sentence. This was the first fighter to be pardoned by the Governor, but I do not remember any other. We concluded that China must have revealed most of our secrets and plans to the Government which resulted in a complete destruction of our communications arrested

and supplies, and detention of about 60,000 great supporters (Anvil and Reserve operations). His attempt to convince our fighters to surrender or to trap them into the Government’s hands had saved his life as a reward for assisting the Government to defeat us.

We

learned that the

to defeat us.

We

propaganda campaigns against Government

Government had

agreed to

start

started using

propaganda and at the same time preach our propaganda. I then read the letters Kimathi had received. The first one was a copy of a letter written to Fenner Brockway by the Secretary, Kenya Parliament Nairobi. The letter accused the British Government of giving their forces and the Kenya settlers authority and arms to shoot the Africans. They were mercilessly shooting the Kikuyu people as though they were unwanted game. The letter claimed that the forces were paid five shillings bonus per Kikuyu killed. It

had given a long account

of

robbing,

raping, burning homes,

destruction of wealth, closing of schools and trade centers, taking of

and Special Areas, unsanitary villages, detention of parents leaving young children without hope, curfew orders, hunger and starvation. The letter requested Fenner Brockway and Peter Mbiyu Koinange to present our case to the United Nations Organization in the hope that the latter would help and settle our case. Copies of the letter had been dispatched to Russia, India and Egypt. The second letter was a reply from Fenner Brockway, m.p. It

vehicles

read, [as

owned by

I recall]

:

the Kikuyu, evictions

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

358 Dear Kamau, I

am

in receipt of

your

letter. I

have read

with great sym-

it

have handed over the letter to Messers Ralph Milner and Johnston who will deal with the affairs in the Parliament. pathy.

I

Yours

faithfully

(Signed) Fenner

The

Brockway

was a reply to my letter to Prof. Motiwala, an astrologer in India; which I had sent a month ago. In the letter I requested him to predict my future. The aim of the letter was to check out whether we were able to communicate with other countries. We suspected the Government with censoring letters going third letter

to other countries.

Though we were happy about

and very much longed to send out letters abroad, Operation Anvil and all the arrests of that month had completely blocked our means of communication. Nevertheless, we resolved that Kimathi and I must be very much engaged in the pen battle in such a way that our voice will

these

letters,

be heard abroad.

Just before our meeting, the Colonial Secretary, Oliver Lyttleton,

Kenya and formed a

arrived in

European

multi-racial

Government

of three

two Asians and one African, the first African minister, B. A. Ohanga. His attempt to quiet the African demands by banning color-bar, promoting the African to a high post in the Government, the preaching of multi-racial Government and cooperation, became the beginning of recognition and yielding to the African demands. This achievement was not through the Legisministers,

Council

but through the admittance by the Colonial Government that granting some of the fighters’ demands was the lative

only sure

way

We

it

used

politics,

of restoring peace. This achievement

to support

our propaganda.

We

was our

pride.

claimed that having

defeated the colonial power in the fight, they were then inducing us to accept equality in a Government which they would lead, having all

Mr

the powers. E.

W.

We

then rejected the offer and wrote a letter to Mathu, M.L.C., congratulating him for rejecting the

ministerial post.

Being the majority

in

Kenya and having shown

the colonial

—

power that we had unreservedly revolted against their rule and all the forecasts were that we were winning we maintained con-

—

fidence in our victory.

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

359

informed the meeting of my intentions of going to Ethiopia. I said that if I got there, I could get help of arms and ammunition and the facility of expressing how our people were brutally I

destroyed in the course of obstructing them from rising to inde-

pendence so that the Kenya settlers will continue to rule and exploit our people as very cheap labor. I demanded a dozen wellarmed and equipped warriors and an average of 2,ooos. each (26,000s.) for all the journey. I said that I had two fighters with

me who had

visited Ethiopia

and they were willing

to

accompany

me.

though the Parliafor the journey. There was a feeling ment didn’t objecting to miss twelve rifles. It was resolved that the Parliament

The

will

members said have money

other

money from

collect

it

was a good

the leaders

idea,

and buy

all

the necessary

wanted and then prepare the messages I would take to the Ethiopian Government. When we discussed the rules and regulations, we confirmed all the old ones and added that any gitungati who would run away from his leader and happened to lead other itungati into komerera gangs would face a capital charge. The second day we were discussing how we could rebuild a bridge-system of supplies from Nairobi when two messengers arrived from Nairobi. They were Ndiritu Theuri and Joram Mwangi.

equipment

I

They brought Kimathi

a

gift

:

a

first

grade khaki corduroy

suit,

leather jacket, wrist watch, fountain pen, a pair of half boots 500s.

They

told us that the Nairobi Central

functioning well and that they had decided district

level

in

it

and

Committee was not wise to work on the

Nairobi so that each district could supply

fighters with their requirements while the Central

its

Committee would

supplv the Nairobi fighters only. They said that according to information received in Nairobi from both Mt. Kenya and Aberdare, the divisional leaders in the forest were in a better position of distributing supplies to their division fighters rather than the

communication difficulties. They told us that they had been sent to make certain whether the goods sent from Nairobi reached Kimathi for distribution. After a short discussion we found that a lot of goods had been sent from Nairobi directed to Kimathi and never reached him. district leaders, chiefly

We

due

to

then resolved that the forest fighters should elect committees ranging from Sub-location, Location, Division and District (such

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

360 as the Itunia

Ndemi

from each division

Trinity Council), with three leaders elected

on the

[to serve

On

latter.]

top of this should be

Kenya Parliament with members representing Kenya Districts. We agreed that we should elect the

of the absent districts

all thirty-three

representatives

and that those persons should do

to recruit the people of the districts they represented.

that

when

the

their best

We

agreed

messengers returned to Nairobi, they would re-

organize the bridge-system from Nairobi to the forests on divisional levels.

We

would be held increase the membership to

also agreed that another general election

before the end of the year in order to thirty-three.

We

wrote a

Parliament and asked

it

letter to the

Nairobi branch of the

Kenya

from every district and and tinned food for my

to collect 5,000s.

supply clothing, medicine, water bottles Ethiopian journey.

The messengers returned tinued

our meeting,

this

to Nairobi.

The

we

following day

con-

time arranging missions to send out;

from Murang’a arrived including Macaria Kimemia, their head leader. They were invited to the meeting and after a long repetition informing them all that we had done, they congratulated our work and joined in preparing some missions. The first mission was to Kiambu under the leadership of Major Kahiga, assisted by Gitekoba. Their main duty was to mobilize the Kiambu young men to join the fight. The second mission was to Gikuyu Iregi Army under Macaria Kimemia. This mission was required to encourage our fighters and if necessary to create and spread propaganda, teach our fighters some methods of attacking luckily,

six

leaders

enemy’s property, preach the leadership of the Kenya Parliament and finally issue ranks to our fighters. A third mission, and similar to the former, under my leadership was to tour the 2nd, 3rd and

Ndemi Army companies. General Abdullah and Makanyang were to assist me. Kimbo and Ndiritu had similar missions to the Mburu Ngebo Army. 4th Ituma

A

mission was under Capt.

Rugani to Laikipia. Rugani resembled and spoke Turkana; he was to mobilize the Turkana and Suk. A sixth mission left for Londiani under Capt. Wanjeru in order to mobilize the Kalenjin tribes. Kimathi awaited a guide to

fifth

Mt. Kenya while the other missions I had not been issued with a rank

was going out went into his

to issue ranks office,

up

left.

officially

and

at that point

to General. Realizing this,

discussed with a few

members

I

Kimathi

of the

Kenya

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

361

Parliament, and returned with an envelope which he gave front of

When

all

the people a few minutes before

opened

we

left

me

in

for our mission.

found a hundred shilling note and a letter saying ‘Today Karari Njama has been promoted to Brigadier General and Knighted, for his service to the country, with the highest title Knight Commander of East Africa/’ It was I

this envelope,

I

:

—

signed by

Dedan Kimathi on

behalf of the

Kenya

Parliament.

was very grateful for my promotion. I ordered a gitungati to take the hundred shilling note to my wife and ask her to share it I

with

my

step-mother.

was already 8 a.m. when we commenced our journey. Kirangi (Gathuri Mukiri), one of Kimathi’s strong old bodyguards was entrusted as our muirigo as well as a bodyguard. Our nine-man safari climbed the hill westwards up to the Moorlands, where the movement was much easier, and changed our direction southwards. Our chief obstacles were rain, mud, cold and swollen rivers. It was mid-May and we were at the height of the long rains. We managed to cross the river Chania at a place where it had widened up to 120 feet and was only two feet in depth. On our approach to Gura River, we found it had so swollen that we could not cross it. We were forced to encamp there for the night, just about five miles from the river’s source. This distance gave us much hope that the water might be low by the following morning, or we would have to go to the source of the river. We pegged our safari tents. Heavy rain started pouring as we were lighting fires. It put off the fires and we were unable to cook anything that night. Our tents flooded making it impossible for us to sleep in them. The night was terribly cold. All the water on the ground or on leaves formed thin layers of ice crystals. Since the river had not changed, we made our way upstream It

crossing

its

tributaries until

a mile from the source.

We

we were

in

a position to cross

changed our direction towards

it

almost

east

and

enjoyed the thin rays of the rising sun. Moving further, we arrived at a dead elephant. We guessed that it must have been killed by

Hundreds of hyenas had enjoyed a great feast, leaving behind bones with little meat and two seven-foot tusks. We didn’t remove the ivory but we agreed that we shall tell the the heavy bombs.

nearest

We

camp

to collect them.

continued our journey and were crossing a very small stream called Karimu that drains into Gura, when one of our gitungati

362

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

sunk completely

in

The stream was measure

it.

We

managed

him but

to save

lost his

luggage.

bamboo to Since Karimu

only four feet wide and using a long

we found

was eleven feet. flows in a grassland narrow valley, one wouldn’t recognize that there was a stream until he was about twenty yards from it. Kabuga’s mbuci was only three quarters of a mile from the stream. We saw some animal traps which notified us that the camp was not far away. When we were observing and talking about the traps, the trappers were only twenty yards from us in their ambush. They had seen us coming far away but they were not certain whether we were foes or friends. As they were leading us to their mbuci they told us that their leader, Kabuga, had disappeared some three weeks ago in the upper Karimu stream. They had seen some people approaching as they were fishing and mistook them for friends. They only recognized them to be foes at a very close range when they opened fire on them. Since then Kabuga and three other itungati had been missing. They told us that they had spent much time searching for its

depth,

that

it

,

their corpses but all in vain.

We

camp in sparsely scattered bamboo just bordering the Moorlands. Here we were welcomed by Gitonga Caciingu, who had succeeded Kabuga, and Wacira Gathuku, who was advising him

entered the

after the dissolution of a general hospital

which was under his charge. His assistant Harrison Gathinji had joined the Kenya Levellation Army and was very active with Capt. Kihithuki operating in our location. Their clerk Julius Gathaiga s/o Mishek Matu had been injured in the knee and the bullet was still causing it to swell so badly that he could not walk. Gicohi Gitori

clerk

and he gave me

the data

was the acting

wanted. In the evening, we were introduced to the itungati though they knew me well. They were told of the mission I led under the Kenya Parliament all

I

,

authority. After greetings,

the following day

we promised

commencing

to hold a general

meeting

two in the afternoon. That night we ate animals meat from their traps; they had caught five bush bucks and had some remains of a buffalo they had shot. Though these camps obtained some food from either the at

had to carry the food for some twenty miles either way. The nights were very cold and we kept the fires burning almost throughout the night to keep us warm. The walls of the huts were well covered to protect us from the cold. reserve or Rift Valley, they

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT When

363

day broke, the leaders became very busy arranging the names of their itungati according to the ranks they were due to be granted. In the afternoon the meeting started and was attended by 97 fighters of IDA 3/3, including ourselves. I told them about the formation of the Kenya Parliament, its aims and works; read to them the letters from India, Nairobi and from Fenner Brockway. I gave them to their clerk and all persons who could read in order to prove to them that the pen battle in which I was very much engaged was as great as the rifle battle. Having convinced them, I was in a good position of forming propaganda for encouragement. General Abdullah taught them the new methods of fighting the the

—

destruction of the enemy’s property. General

them about ranks and promised

Makanyanga

talked

would be issued with ranks the following day. Kirangi warned them that though many people had [become] self-styled ‘generals’, none of those ranks would be recognized unless it was officially issued by an authorized person. He emphasized that the records in the books would be more reliable than any verbal claims. He said that every gitungati would not be able to present his service [record] to the first African Government but every gitungati expected his leader to speak for him. He then mentioned the disadvantages of komerera. Their leader, Wacira Gathuku, told them that the ranks would be issued according to ones activities in the camp. The meeting broke up and we quickly went to warm ourselves. The following morning, I stood between the two camp leaders on my left and my two assistants on my right and issued ranks to some 25 fighters, including their leaders Gen’s. Wacira and Gitonga. We spent some 50s. on ranks the highest getting 10s. and the lowest getting fifty cents. The following day we visited IDA 2/1 which had encamped some two hours walk due south. On our arrival, we were welcomed by Elijah Kihara Gatandi and his assistant, Gicuki Mwii. We learned that Kihara Kagumu, the head leader of IDA 2, had been shot dead by the enemy at Kimbo’s mbuci at Karathi’s Mother. His successor, Gicuki Mugo, had been arrested while hiding in Nyeri European Primary School compound. I did not notice any difference between that camp and the former. We remained in the camp for three days during which we completed our program, to

that they

—

ranking 22 of the 70

We

fighters.

were given a guide

to

IDA

2/2, then under Kibira Gatu.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN 364 The camp was behind the old H.Q. at Kariaini facing

Gikira River.

Kibira Gatu had become very famous fighting with the

Kenya

and returning in the forest while not attacking. The place was quite warm, between the black forest and the bamboo, compared to the freezing area we had been Levellation in the reserve

After a thin maize-meal dinner, I feel in deep sleep. next morning, I felt very tired and did not want to wake

staying.

The up.

At 8 130 in the morning I was still in bed and completely wrapped within a blanket when the enemy started firing at the camp. They had approached the camp unnoticed. I woke up, grabbed my satchel with one hand and my blanket in the other, leaving behind my shoes, raincoat and hat. As I ran, the blanket was held by a branch and knocked me down. I heard the enemy shouting ‘He is down See them run like cowards.’ :

!

my

blanket there and, running barefoot, I fell many times while descending in a valley. As I was left behind, I managed to I left

join three other fighters.

I

asked them to pause and

listen.

We

did

not hear our people but instead heard the enemy shouting in the camp. We learned that it was Kibithe’s young boys from their shoutings.

We

had not hope

gati suggested that

of joining our

we

cross

companions that day. The itunthe Gikira River and visit IDA 4/3

by Kahinga Wachanga. We managed to get there but the enemies had seen us going and followed us. They spotted some of Kahinga’s fighters who had gone to collect honey and opened fire at them. When he heard the shots, Kahinga ordered his fighters to pack and move westwards to Githai area in the dry bamboo. The four of us accompanied him. led

On

our arrival at Githai, we were dispersed by another enemy force. The movement was very difficult there for one could not run over the fallen bamboo unless he followed an elephant’s path.

found myself with a group of 18 of Kahinga’s fighters and we encamped by one of the Gikira tributaries near its source. We found all of us had only one maize cob for our dinner. Some I

some edible vegetables but found none. The ones they found were very poisonous and if we ate them we would either run mad or become dumb. Our maize was roasted and each of us was given a dozen grains for dinner. I learned that Kahinga’s section had lost the system of building a common food store and itungati searched for

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT had all

substituted

it

by carrying on

365

their shoulders all their belongings

the time.

The

following day

we

vainly searched for the other companions.

Night came and we encamped in one of Kahinga’s old camps where Kahinga’s itungati thought that it was easy for them to contact the other fighters. That night discussion resolved that

ing the other fighters

noon,

we would go

we had nothing

we would spend

and that

if

The

the following

itungati

day search-

unsuccessful by four in the after-

to the forest edge

enter the reserve to collect food

to eat.

and

and

13 of the fighters

would

try to catch the other fighters

there.

The forest

next day

edge

we had no

in the

luck in the search.

We

went

to the

evening but met the enemy shelling the forest

would have been very dangerous to try and enter the reserve under those conditions so the 19 of us spent another hungry night without food. The following morning we continued our hopeless search till noon. Being tired and hungry, we sat down for a rest. My soft bare feet had been badly pricked by debris, stumps, stones and were always wet, sinking under the black mud. I felt exhausted and did not want to walk any more. I asked the itungati whether they knew any other fighters’ camp to which they could lead me. They replied that they did not know any other than the old deserted camps. The itungati suggested that we had better walk some ten miles to the edge of the forest where we would encamp for the night while some of us went to the reserve for food. I did not appreciate the idea and requested whether some of them would accompany me to the Moorlands where I thought I could catch other fighters easily. I learned that none of the itungati wanted to part from their companions. In a horrified and worried state of mind, I took my small binoculars and started eagerly looking aimlessly for any people. Luckily, I caught some thin smoke rising up above a tall tree across the river Gikira to the northwest. I was unable to sight any person due to the hindrance of trees and bushes. I told the fighters that we had better catch the owners of that smoke, whom I thought to be our fighters who had gone round hunting for honey. One gitungati argued that it might be enemy’s fire. At last they agreed and we walked to the tree. aimlessly from positions near the boundary. It

On

our arrival at the

tree,

we found

that our other fighters

3^6

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

who had made

the

while collecting honey had then

fire

quickly followed their track, taking great care not to lose track led us to IDA 4/ 1 under Gikonyo Kanyungu.

We

were very happy

left. it.

We The

meet other fighters. I told Gen. Gikonyo that we had spent four days and three nights without food. He ordered that we be given as much elephant meat as we could eat. Though the Kikuyu tribe traditionally disapproves of eating any to

animal with one hoof [i.e., toe], like the horse, or with more than two hooves, and all clawed animals, a few Kikuyu hunters, ‘Athi,’

had started trapping and eating elephants, probably under the influence of Gumba and Nderobo some centuries ago. The Athi were sparsely scattered all along the borders of the forests surrounding Kikuyuland. In Murang’a the practice of eating elephant had grown so that they almost ignored the taboo on eating such animals. influenced their neighbors in Gikonyo’s camp.

They had

any taboo and traditional beliefs, I personally believed that man could eat any animal, provided that it was not Irrespective of

poisonous to him.

I

thought that

God

blessed all other creatures

man’s food. This abundance had caused man to select which ones he liked according to their appearances and tastes. With this in mind, I started eating the meat, weighing its taste and smell. The taste of the fried fat could not be differentiated from cattle fat. We ate much of the tender meat, which was as as

tender as pork.

I

noted that a

girl

and three other warriors had

refused to eat.

After eating,

asked for kiraiku.

wrapped the tobacco well in a piece of paper in the form of a cigarette and heavily puffed it after lighting while I listened to Gen. Gikonyo telling me about his camp. He told me that his group had successfully exterminated a notorious headman and had readministered the oath to the Home Guards. He said that he was on very good terms with many Home Guards in Chinga Location. T. hey were regularly supplying him with ammunition. He added that four of the Home Guards had joined his mbutu [i.e., section] with their rifles and ammunition supplied to them by the Government. He called them to come with their inspected

rifles.

them

I

I

They

stood in a line and presented arms to me. I and congratulated them for what they had done

supporting the fighters.

and that they were

in

told

them

works should be recorded a position of gaining high rank quickly and I

their

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT easily

367

they could bring into the forest some other

if

Home

Guards

with their arms.

Turning

to

Gikonyo,

a meeting with his

I

asked him whether

fighters.

He

said

was that some 88 it

possible to hold fighters

were

in

the camp, plus 25 who were at the forest fringe storing food for future use and twelve who were in his hospital attending three

One

Munandi, who had shot the elephant but it caught him before it died and pierced its tusk right through his thigh and then threw him up on a bush. He concluded that if I wanted I could meet all the fighters in the camp. He said that he had better first consult his divining gourd as he was one of the medicine men, so as to know whether we were safe to the camp. I watched him counting his stones and seeds, whose numbers solved his questions. I very well understood that there was no truth in it but many of our fighters believed in it. After [he had finished] he said we were safe and called the itungati patients.

of the patients

was

his assistant leader,

to a meeting.

After introducing

me

them of the mission men were dispersed by the enemy and the to his itungati ,

I

told

and how my difficult life I had within the last four days. I started reading the letters and had not finished when I fell down on the ground in the center of the meeting like a person suffering from epilepsy. When I rose up to speak, for a few seconds I was unable to maintain my balance. When I resumed my strength, I told the fighters not to think that I was suffering from any disease, as they might have thought the fact was that I was suffering from hunger and exhaustion of energy in the long journeys. I took a New Testament out of my satchel, opened to St. Matthew, Chapter 5, and I

had

led

—

read verses 1-6.

And

seeing the multitudes, he went

when he was his

set, his disciples

into a

mountain; and

came unto him. And he opened

mouth, and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor

spirit for theirs

mourn

:

is

the

kingdom

for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the

thirst after righteousness

:

in

of heaven. Blessed are they that

they shall inherit the earth. Blessed

and

up

meek for are they which do hunger :

for they shall be filled.

them that Jesus was a great teacher and prophet and his prophesy would be fulfilled exactly as I had read unto them. I told them that it was just a matter of time and we would come to the I

told

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

368

end of the emergency, during which time our daily troubles would be changed in equal amount of goodness as the badness we had suffered.

‘You end,’

I

all

know

said.

that everything has

In order to witness

my

its

time,

its

statement,

of the ancient great preachers, the Ecclesiastes,

beginning and I

its

referred to one

Chapter

3, verses

1-8.

To

everything there

is

a season, and a time to every purpose

under the heaven. A time * 1 be born, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a timj to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn, and a time to dance a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a ;

;

time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak; a time of famine, and a time of plenty (my insertion). A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and

a time of peace. ‘

I

hough

this

is

corner, coming,’

a time of war, the time of peace said.

I

‘When

it

arrives,

each of us

is

just at the

shall receive

happiness equal to the misery he or she has suffered in the forest, for God maintains the balance of good and bad and the lengths of their duration.

Those who are happy now

w hen uhuru [freedom] comes, while we r

ing the suffering

we

shall be very miserable

shall be very

happy, balanc-

are about to overcome.’

then took the letter from Fenner Brockway, read it to them and then handed it over to them to witness that it had come from him. I told them that Mbiyu Koinange had succeeded in presenting I

our case to the

UNO

countries (British

coming

to

Kenya

and that over 80 representatives of

Commonwealth Parliamentary

different

Delegation) were

to hear

our claims and collect reports from our our disputes with the settlers. I told them that I

and settle was making the Africans’ difficulties known by the people of other countries and that soon we would get help. I promised them to issue ranks the following day and released them to collect firewood before darkness fell. 1 heir leader thanked me and they seemed very happy as they left to gather wood. By the time fires were made, I was as hungry as ever. I beleaders

THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

369

wilderingly asked Gikonyo whether elephant’s meat took the same length of time as cattle beef for digestion.

‘The elephant’s meat is very tender,’ he replied, ‘and takes less than three hours to be digested and absorbed in the body and very little of it is excreted. It doesn’t matter how much one eats, for he will quickly feel

form of food

He

hungry

as elephants’

meat

is

the easiest digestible

know.’

I

ordered

cooks to

his

which

make njima

for

me

hardened maize

(a

meat and a nice gravy. After eating, I felt very sleepy. He gave me one of his blankets and asked one of his lieutenants to show me where to sleep. I was taken to a small rectangular hut with all the walls well covered and a nice fire was still burning. I wrapped myself in the blanket and soon fell into a porridge)

I

ate with

sleep.-

The following day, Gikonyo arranged the names of the fighters who were to be ranked and in the afternoon I issued ranks to 28 of them, including four Home Guards who had finished two months in the forest each was made a sergeant. During the meeting I told them how to attack enemy’s property and suggested for them to move from the reserves to the Rift Valley and in general tried to cover the mission’s program, the Kenya Young Stars, etc.

—

After

my

speech, one gitungati offered

Seeing that, Gikonyo promised

me

me

a pair of tyre sandals.

to order all

my

requirements

from the reserve. The following day I visited the camp’s hospital and found that all the patients were recovering. Munandi had two small wounds in the thigh through which the elephant had stabbed its tusk. They all witnessed that the hole was three inches in diameter and covered and filled with some elephant fat. When I returned to the mbuci, I found four itungati from

who had been moving from camp to camp searchme. They told me that although my companions in the had been dispersed by the enemy the day we parted, they

Gitonga’s mbuci ing for

mission

had me. I

later

on

all

arrived at Gitonga’s

made up my mind

to join

my

mbuci with the exception

of

companions the following day.

Gikonyo told me that he would accompany me in order to be able to meet Kimathi. We left the camp in the morning with ten itungati, including his kabatuni. By noon we arrived at Kihara Gatandi’s camp and he too wished to join my company on our

way back

to Chania.

I

learned that the

enemy

killed three of

our

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

370

two others and four others including myself had been missing for a week. I told the story of the three others and so cleared the worries. I rejoined my companions in the evening at Gitonga’s mbuci. We were all glad to meet each other safely. They told me that they spent two more days in Kibira’s mbuci held a meeting with all the itungati and preached all they could, mentioning the letters I had. They did not issue ranks. I in turn told them all that happened to me since we were dispersed. fighters, injured

,

my

After listening to

quired whether our fighters

we had experienced

Wacira Gathuku wonderingly enwould ever forget the miserable life

story,

in the forest.

Though

the other leaders advo-

cated that our fighters will never forget the emergency’s to

me

to

commemorate our

difficulties,

seemed to be only hope based on their present feelings, while there was really nothing concrete to commemorate our misery. I then warned them that unless we had something concrete it

misery,

it

would become a forgotten factor

a very short time.

in

Wacira Gathuku then suggested that the day that the emergency will be declared over should become a public holiday and every year on that day we should pack our luggage in kitbags and make about twenty-five miles walk to the Moorlands and peg out our tents on the frozen areas, start hunting and trapping animals for dinner while our wives and children search for any edible vegetables (which is difficult to get in the Moorlands) and if we did not get

any

forest food

we

should then sleep without eating anything for that night. All people should be awakened by thunderous firing

weapon

of every

that

was used during the emergency. They should

then walk back home.

Gen. Gitonga Gaciingu in support of Wacira’s idea added that it should be a prayer day to be held on the mountains at midnight and that we should always sacrifice a goat to God before prayers. I argued that though the idea was a good one, only the present fighters would carry it forward for a short time and then it would die with the fighters. I suspected that the future generations would not be willing to practice such hardships with neither fun nor interest in them.

‘Though we would

like to

maintain the idea

in the

minds of our

‘we could do so by building memorial halls or clubs and give them names symbolizing our miserable life. The buildings

people,’

may

I said,

live

for

many

generations and people from other countries

— THE KENYA PARLIAMENT would see them and learn memory.’ suggested that

I

The

we

their

try to

names, keeping

name

37 1

in their

minds the

those memorial hall or clubs.

following names were suggested

Kari lguru (meaning the airplane is above), Mwihugo (Emergency), Ruhati (the hillside, created in the forest), Ngai Ndeithia! (God help me!), Nyagikonyo (Lincoln Bombers), Bebeta (Bren or machine gun), Nyandarua, Kirinyaga,

Wiyathi or

Mborabu (Ice), Ndia Ndarua (Hides and Uhuru (Freedom).

Instead of suggesting any name, I

pointed out that

only

:

all

—had omitted

I

the suggested

first criticised

names

the civilians, detainees

my

suggestion,

and

to hear

my

titles.

prisoners, including

I

wanted

the above

referred to forest fighters

added that the name should Mts. Nyandarua and Kirinyaga. Wacira Gathuku, speaking on behalf of the

our top leaders.

Skins Eater),

also include both

others,

ideas. I started

demanded

mentioning the

which our people have suffered and which are worthy to commemorate. ‘First, the Mt. Kenya fighters; second, the Nyandarua fighters; third, the Olengurone civilians’ eviction, treatment and loss of property; fourth, the Kapenguria Trials of Jomo Kenstages in

by which we should commemorate all other trials which led to death by hanging for thousands of our supporters and long imprisonment to more than 20,000; fifth, Lokitaung Prison, in

yatta,

which leader Jomo Kenyatta and his colleagues were serving seven years imprisonment for leading the revolution. This prison should commemorate all other prisons and prisoners, detention camps and detainees.’

Our

five stages

have drawn people from the

porters in the reserves are in the

many

aspects. Since

hall with five

name

thus

:

it

names,

would be

we

same category

difficult to

as

Our

sup-

our fighters

in

have a club or memorial

should combine the

putting together the

reserves.

five

names

into one

name AMpenguria, LOkitaung we

first

syllables of every

—

KEn ya,

JVTTndarua, o’LZsngurone, would get the kenyalekalo memorial club. My idea was approved by the other leaders and we resolved that our misery would be commemorated in big halls to be built in cities

and towns under the name kenyalekalo.

we asked Gitonga to send some itungati to Kihara Gitandi and Gicuki Mwii very early the following morning Before sleeping,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

372

them

to take a letter requesting to

meet Kimathi

in

to

come and arrange our journey

Chania.

The following morning, after the arrival of Kihara and Gicuki, we agreed that we had to leave for Chania the following day at seven in the morning.

come

We

asked them to pack their luggage and

to pass the night with us at Gitonga’s mbuci.

in the

evening

we

they

passed time by composing two songs to

memorate our mission and misery and verses of one song are

I left

When

praising the leaders.

came comSome

:

home

And left my parents And promised them That

was going

I

Chorus

:

to fight for soil

Follow the young

man

And remember This

soil is for

blacks

The man you see with a gap in teeth Is called Ndungu s/o Giceru He is the one who brings down airplanes When they come to disturb itungati

Njama The hero of Mahiga Was willing to give his Karari s/o

To

life

return the whites to Europe

When

I

went home

my parents Weeping, Oh our son I

found

Our homes were burned. The

following morning

a group of 35 3.

We

we

started our journey to

Mihuru with

including six divisional leaders of IDA 2 and took the same route back with the exception that this time fighters,

we managed to cross the river Gura at a point just above its water falls where we had previously failed to cross. After spending a night

— THE KENYA PARLIAMENT on the way, we arrived Kimathi in Nyaga’s mbusi

at

Mihuru

in

late

373

afternoon and met

end of May. I reported all about my mission and pointed out that I did not visit all the sections in that area because they were badly dispersed at the

by the enemy during the previous month and, moreover, many of them were living in Rift Valley, including Stanley Mathenge. I told Kimathi about our idea of the Kenyalekalo Clubs, which he recommended. After discussing with the six Othaya Division leaders, he advised us to return to Othaya and elect committees from sub-location

and division. After spending three days with Kimathi, the Othaya leaders left for Ruthaithi area where they said they would stay for a week. They would then collect me on their way location

back to Othaya.

Kimathi organized a visit to the reserve people in Icagaciru Village in North Tetu Location. We left the forest at sunset with 160 armed fighters who on arrival took up sentry positions along all paths leading into that village with the help of some civilians. We met in a home of three big huts on a farm whose owner had not shifted into the village. Each of the huts had at least 80 people men, women and girls. Kimathi, Abdullah, Ndiritu, Kahiu-Itina, Kimbo and I lectured to the villagers aiming at encouraging them and gaining their support and re-establishing communication links, bridge-system and a firm organization from the sub-location to the division. We elected some leaders in the reserve who would look after our 0 affairs, told them about the Kenya Parliament, Kenya Young Stars Association and Kenyalekalo, and warned them of the Government propaganda, using bombing results and China’s negotiations as examples. After our long speeches

had brought

One

to that

we

ate various types of food the

home and our

women

warriors carried bundles of raw

and gave [them to] me. The sub-locational leader promised Ndiritu Thuita that he would send him all my requirements. It was already three in the morning when the meeting broke up. The villagers who had come from all parts of the location returned safely to their home and we entered the forest at dawn. We held a similar meeting at Ihwa in the same location a week food.

later.

of the villagers took off his shoes

The Government was informed

of our

visits,

and we too

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

374

received that information,

and we never again

set foot

or held any

other meeting in the reserve.

During the two meetings we held

in the reserve,

we

learned that

Kimbo

regarded himself as the representative of the Rift Valley

and

the fighters

all

repatriation.

who had made Kimbo, who [seemed

Kimathi, tried to gain In his speech, the forest

and

He

Kimbo in

to]

his confidence

by dividing Rift Valley

fighters

homes before assume equal power with

Rift Valley their

[i.e.,

enhance

his

own

from the Central Province

status]

fighters.

WE (Rift Valley people both in and YOU (the Central Province

referred to

the reserve)

claimed that the Rift Valley people had lost all their property and were helpless. In his comparison he said that HIS people contributed more for land and freedom than the Central people).

Province.

—

C

HA

P T ER

THE TIDE Consider in g

XVIII

TURNING

IS

the military, logistic

confronting the Aberdare forces, the to achieve considerable success in its

policies

and programs over the

and

ecological difficulties

Kenya Parliament managed some 1954. Through

implementing at last half of

least

of its

various missions, ceremonial gatherings and meetings, the Parliament was able to gain recognition and establish its authority albeit largely

nominal

—over most Aberdare groups and

the guerrilla units operating in

Kiambu and

several of

the smaller forests.

however, were for the most part organizational and did not culminate in the new offensive thrust envisioned by the Parliament leaders. The tide, in fact, seemed to be turning against the guerrilla forces. In the forests they were becoming Its

successes,

from one another and from their major sources of supplies in the reserves and Nairobi. Related to this, and equally important, was the fact that guerrilla units in several areas were beginning to run critically short of arms and, especially, ammunition. The Kenya Parliaments proposed strategy of destroying enemy property, while sound

increasingly isolated

and cut

off

was clearly insufficient to halt the steady depletion of weapons and ammunition. Military supplies simply had to be acquired from the security forces and it was here, if the revolt were to be sustained, that a new strategy aimed at the enemy’s weak points, utilizing the tactics of hit-and-run raid and ambush, capitalizing on the elements of surprise, mobility and coordinated action, and directed primarily toward the acquisition of arms and ammunition was required. Instead, faced with a continuing build-up of Government forces, heavily armed guard

in

itself,

—

—

and police

posts, fortified villages, etc., the forest insurgents

were

using their dwindling supply of arms and ammunition ever more exclusively for food raids and defense. And, as the food quest led to raids on civilian stock and gardens, the support of the

hard-pressed Kikuyu peasantry was steadily alienated. Failure to sustain the military offensive was obviously related 375

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

37^

to the internal conflicts

which rose

to the surface

among Aber-

dare groups and leaders during this period. The lack of significant victories, loss of forward momentum and increasing isolation within the forest tended to turn the Aberdare guerrilla forces

upon themselves, accelerating certain negative forest organization and heightening personal ani-

increasingly in

trends in the

mosities between important guerrilla leaders.

The

tendency, for

example, toward smaller and more numerous groups was accelerated by the mounting supply, travel and military difficulties and,

be clear from Karari’s account, it was these smaller marginal groups which deviated more grossly from Kenya Parliament policies regarding offensive tactics, treatment of civilian as will

supporters, rules

etc.,

and which adhered

and regulations

less closely to

relating to discipline,

women and

division of labor, the role of

Parliament

respect for rank,

defensive procedures.

was the marginal and komerera groups which yielded more readily to the leadership of their seers or mundo mugo.

Again,

it

The Kenya

Parliament’s

adequate enforcement machinery, combined with the personal power maintained by lack

of

individual leaders, also facilitated the defiance and non-recognition of the Parliament’s authority by certain key Aberdare

such as Stanley Mathenge, Kahiu-Itina and Kimbo. Coupled with the ‘vertical’ pattern of loyalties, this made the

leaders,

potential split within the

Kenya Parliament

threaten not only

the loss of these individual leaders but also of the lesser leaders and followers attached to them. This segmentation, as noted earlier,

was based upon the

territorial criterion of

recruitment

into the various forest groups

and was but a reflection of the fact that, for the most part, ties and loyalties based on kinship friendship and locality were strongest within the primary fighting units and towards sub-section leaders, and weakened progressively at each succeeding level of grouping and leadership. As revealed in Karari’s discussions with potential dissidents, there was also a growing tendency towards ideological polarization.

In

its

strictly

political

guerrilla forces continued to

dimension,

‘victorv’

be conceived bv

all

among

the

factions as the

achievement of an independent, all-African Kenya government. Conditioned bv the absence of a strong centralized form of government within the traditional Kikuyu political structure, as well as

by the Kenya-wide administrative and

political

system

THE TIDE

TURNING

IS

377

imposed by the British over the preceeding fifty years, few if any Kikuyu thought in terms of secession or the formation of an independent Kikuyu state or nation. This Kenya-wide aspect of forest ideology was manifested both in the symbolic representation of Kenya’s 33 districts in the reorganized Kenya Parliament and in the hoped-for participation of other tribes in the revolt. Despite the general agreement concerning this political question, however, a polarization of ideological positions was developing with respect to the legitimacy of the Kenya Parliament, future rights to alienated land and the place of traditional beliefs

and customs. The more acculturated, semi-educated the

Kenya

leaders of

Parliament, such as Karari, expressed the view that

land should be apportioned among the landless Kenya African Government. They also tended to

all settler-held

by the

first

accept a religious

more or less syncretic version beliefs and customs. Several

Kikuyu and European illiterate leaders, on the

of

other hand, questioning the legitimacy of the educated leaders’ dominance of the Kenya Parliament, held that since the revolt was being fought by illiterate peasants, it should be led by the

uneducated as well. They also maintained that the White Highlands should be turned over to the ex-Rift Valley squatters and laborers and that all mission influence should be purged from Kikuyu religious beliefs and practices. As we shall see, Karari makes a valiant attempt to moderate this conflict and the Mihuro meeting in late November was devoted largely, and with some success, to bringing about a reconciliation between Mathenge and Kimathi and a reunification of Aberdare forces.

Kihara Gatandi and the Othaya leaders missed us and returned to Othaya. I followed them at the beginning of June and organized IDA 2, 3 and 4 and their sections Othaya, Mahiga and Chinga Locations which form Othaya Division. After each location had elected its sub-location and location committee members, the itgunati from the three locations met about one and a half miles west of H.Q. Kariaini and elected the Divisional Committee. Over 300 fighters met and elected [the following] persons, who also had

—

to be

members

—

of their sub-location

and location committees

:

1

:

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

378 Chairman

Gen. Gikonyo Kanyunga Chinga Location Brig. Gen. Karari NjamaMahiga Loc. Capt. Kunyukunyu Othaya Loc.

Vice Chairman Secretary

Vice Secretary Treasurer Vice Treasurer

Col.

Wanjeru

Kibiri

Gen. Kihara Gatandi Gen. Gitonga Gaciingu Wachira Gathuki

Committee Members

Mwaniki Gacoka Kibicho

After the election

we

Mahiga Loc. Othaya Loc. Mahiga Loc. Mahiga Loc. Chinga Loc. Othaya Loc.

drafted a letter to the Chairman,

IDA 4/ IDA 3/3 IDA 2/2 IDA 3/2 IDA 2/1 IDA 3/3 IDA 3/3 IDA 4/1 IDA 2/3 Othaya

and a carbon to the Nairobi Kenya Parliament branch. The letter which I wrote, under the instruction of the Division, Nairobi,

committee, reported the result of the election we had and requested that all our divisional supplies be sent to the Chairman via Chinga where the bridge system and communications had been re-

We

established since Operation Anvil.

we had no little we had

pointed out that

ammunition for attacking our enemies and that the was only [sufficient] to fight for food for only a short time. We also mentioned that our fighters had started wearing skins due to lack of clothes and that we had no medicine left in stock. We also reminded them that we were still waiting for the help they would give for

my

journeys to Ethiopia.

for all the office bearers

We

enclosed specimen signatures

and warned them that

always be signed by three

all

our

letters

each from a

office bearers,

would

[different]

location.

Apart from the election, I spoke to our fighters on many other points and wrote a letter to Kahinga Wachanga, IDA 4/3, who led the South Tetu Division and asked him to hold the same elections as

we had and

to

accompany

mittee office bearers, so that

us,

including his Divisional

we could

re-elect

the

Ituma

Com[i.e.,

Nyeri District] Council at Chania. In his reply he told us that his case was very easy since all his divisional fighters were not many and were living in one tnbuci

under

his leadership.

the forest. It

from the

was the

forest.

1

his division lacked the benefit of

division

[i.e.,

bordering

South Tetu] that was furthest

had distributed themselves to Mt. Kirinyaga [Kenya], Fort Hall— Gikuyu Iregi Army, and most of them had been forced by subsistence circumstances to join the Kenya Levellation Army, leaving only about 80 fighters with Its

fighters

Kahinga.

When Kahinga

failed to

come, we

set off

toward Chania with

all

the Divisional

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

Committee men.

We

met Kimathi

the end of June. After reporting

all

379 at Chieni

toward

about our journey, we learned

Kimathi wanted each division to elect three of its members and when they met they would form the Ituma Council. The Othaya Division Committee resolved that it was bad for us to elect any Ituma members in the absence of Stanley Mathenge, then that

its

chairman. Though very inactive, as he proved himself to be,

was very great. Moreover, we believed that it was bad to cast him out unknowingly and we resolved that I had to go and meet Mathenge and try to bring him at the Annual General Meeting when we would resume the yet his popularity in the division

talk.

As we were about to break up our discussion, three itungati arrived from Ruthaithi reporting that Wambararia (Wagura Waciuri, Kimathi’s brother) wanted to kill two itungati whom he claimed had seduced his girlfriend. ‘He grabbed a rifle from my hands,’ said one gitungati ‘and fired two shots at the itungati. One of them was caught by a bullet in his knee. We were able to disarm him and he kept threatening to kill them.’ Kimathi wrote a letter to his brother and asked him to surrender and peacefully go to present his case to the Kenya Parliament. He warned that if he disobeyed his instructions he would forcibly be disarmed and probably spoil his case. The letter was taken by six armed itungati who were ordered to report the following day with Wambararia. Meanwhile, I wrote a letter to six members of the Kenya Parliament who were nearby asking them to come and hear Wambararia’s case. They arrived the following day and the itungati arrived with Wambararia, who was still armed with a rifle. Kimathi spoke to him and he yielded his gun. Wambararia was released on his own word that he would neither run away or commit ,

suicide.

The

following day, eight

Kenya Parliament members

down to attempting murder. The

Kimathi) plus eight other leaders invited by Kimathi, hear the case. Wambararia was accused of

(including

sat

accused pleaded guilty and threatened that he would rather commit suicide than be sentenced to death for his action. He claimed that

he had acted on bad temper. The girl and the Itungati who were victimized by Wambararia swore that their talk had nothing to do with sexual matters.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

380

Kiniathi spoke, he defended his brother. He said, ‘According to Kikuyu customary laws, there was nothing like “attempting murder;” all there was was “murder” or “wound,” of which the penalty for the former was either 100 head of goats for a man or

When

30 for a

woman

or a revenge by killing the murderer or his relapenalty on wounding or assaulting another person was a

tive.

The

ram

for the medicine

man who

cleaned and purified the

spilt

blood,

a very fat he-goat and a tin of honey as the compensation for serious injuries. I think Wambararia’s case should be regarded as wounding a person and not attempting murder which is not our

own

law.’

and his suggestion was accepted. I warned the meeting that Wambararia’s case could not be unique and that our judgement, which would be recorded in our books, would become a pattern to any future cases. Kimathi

Trying

many

gained

to

find

supporters

out the judgement, Abdullah suggested that

according to Kikuyu customary laws,

we

should ask Wambararia

compensate the injured person by a billygoat and a tin of honey and in addition to that he should take much care to the injured person, especially in feeding and medical treatment. Another person suggested that the two itungati be transferred from Wambararia’s mbuci soon after recovery and discharge from to

the hospital. Both ideas were resolved as final, though the injured

no better treatment than one injured by our enemy. Similarly, Wambararia had no billygoat or honey of his own, but instead would send his itungati to search them wherever they could find them and take them to the hospital just what they do to other injured persons. I later on learned from a few Kenya Parliament leaders that they were not satisfied with the judgement and blamed Kimathi fighter

received

—

for his fallacy.

From

the witnesses, the victims suffered for nothing

and escaped death by mere luck. I shared their feelings but Kimathi’s mood and activity of inviting stooges to hear the case had proved to me that peace could only prevail when his ideas succeeded.

Now

July was approaching. I suggested to Kimathi that we should have a mid-year prayer day on 2nd July to commemorate our

deceased

fighters.

By

calculation

I

found that 2nd July was the

mid-day of the year, so Kimathi asked

me

to write letters to all

THE TIDE nearby leaders and

tell

them

to

TURNING

IS meet

at

38 1

Ruhuruini Memorial Hall

where prayers should be held at Gathitu’s grave. A few days later, some 400 fighters met at Ruhuruini Memorial Hall where we amused ourselves by songs, and hearing reports of missions. Our prayers started at a quarter to midnight inside the hall. The prayers were opened by Wang'ombe Ruga and said by two leaders, two itungati, two girl fighters and was dedicated by Kimathi.

Leaders of the various missions reported their journeys and those who were absent, we heard their stories from verbal messages by other people.

I

was the

first

to report

Thuita reported about their tours

on

in the

my

Mburu Ngebo Army com-

panies and praised them for their activities. the

Mburu Ngebo Army

lived

on

journey, then Ndiritu

settlers’

He

most of livestock or wheat and said that

other crops growns by the settlers and their employees.

He

said

some sections situated in Wanjohi Valley, Kipipiri Hill and the Moorland lived entirely on trapping and collecting honey. We learned that Ruguni and two of his men were shot dead while crossing Nyeri-Thomson’s Falls road and two others were captured by the enemy. Thus our failure to reach the Northern Frontier District Turkana and Suk. Gen. Omera, a member of Kenya Parliament, had been badly injured in the right arm and captured by the enemy. He was known to be cooperating with Kenya Police Reserve at their H.Q. at Mweiga, where he was still receiving treatment after his hand that

had been completely cut off in hospital. Macaria Kimemia had not returned but reports said that he was doing well in Murang’a. Kimathi read a letter written by Wanjeru while at Elburgon saying that his mission was forced to return as it had been very difficult for them to find any supporters who could lead them to the Nandi Reserve. Major Kahiga, who was sent to Kiambu, was reported killed on his way back to Kiambu from Nairobi. His assistant, Gitekoba, had survived and was said to be in Nyandarua guiding some 90 Kiambu fighters to meet us. also learned that Kenya Levellation Army companies had I entered Ruthaithi after the capture of their leaders, Gens. Hika Hika, Gaita Mbomu, Ngoma Kaigo and Montgomery. I decided to visit their sections and collect some data. When we dispersed the following day, I went to Ruthaithi and found some peculiari-

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

382 ties in

those sections.

More than

half of the fighters were girls

;

they

acted according to the witchdoctors’ will; a boy eleven years old

had been made a general by their witchdoctors and they all obeyed him. The ways of prayers had changed they started praying facing Mt. Kenya and then [turned toward] Mt. Nyandarua and finished their prayers facing the former. They did not want to eat or live with a person who had not been cleansed by their medicine man. They alleged that such a person would bring great calamity to ;

their mbuci.

For a week

mbuci at night and worked on these sections during the day. These Kenya Levellation sections refused to give me some safari food when I wanted to leave their camp, though they had promised me safari food, and while they had plenty of meat. When I arrived at their camp, the eleven year old camp leader told me that they had not held their morning prayers yet and that to touch food before would bring calamity to the camp. I left their camp at 7 a.m. with three itungati and had gone hardly half a mile from their camp by the time their enemies opened fire. We sat down and astonishingly listened to the guns’ echoes. We were afraid that they might be taken by surprise by the enemy for they did not keep any guards and the fact that we had left many of them still asleep. We had only five maize cobs for our journey. At midday we came to a place where Lincolns had dropped bombs, killing two big bushbucks. We were very glad and thanked God for the gift. We slew the animals and each carried a heavy load of meat. On my arrival at Chieni mbuci I learned that Kimathi had gone to Mwathe (in the Moorlands) accompanied by two Kiambu leaders, a Kiambu elder and a dozen of their itungati who had been guided by Gitekoba. I also learned from Nyaga that more than 80 Kiambu fighters were in Gikuyu Iregi Army and that they would meet Kimathi at Mwathe. Some itungati had been sent to guide them to Mwathe. Kimathi had sent me a message asking me to go and meet the Kenya Inoro (Kiambu) leaders but I had I

remained

in Jeriko’s

,

not received the message.

On

Mwathe, Kimathi introduced me to Joseph Kibe Kimani and Gathumbi and another leader of Kiambu fighters. They told me that they had received our message from Major Kahiga and Gitekoba and that Waruingi had received our former arrival at

— THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

383

message and had started fighting as early as January, but many of their fighters had moved to Melili in Narok and were fighting under

Ole

Kisio.

They confirmed

all

that

we had

learned about Kiambu.

Kiambu itungati arrived. Kimathi and I gave lectures to the Kiambu fighters on our army registration telling them of the Kenya Inoro Army under which they were able to register, various records, Kenya Parliament, rules and regulations, fighting tactics, food and supplies, camp life, etc. Due to shortage of food supply in Nguthiru (Moorlands), we returned to In a couple of days 88

Chania and Nyaga’s mbuci.

On

arrival, I

wrote

letters to all

nearby leaders inviting them to

Kenya Inoro Army fighters. After their arrival, they encouraged the new fighters in their speeches. We distributed companies 1, 2, and 3 and the Kenya Inoro Army fighters in IDA told them that they had to learn for a month or two so that when they returned to Kiambu they would have some experiences of the life in the forest and be better equipped in how to handle their own affairs. Meanwhile their leaders helped to send messages to Kiambu fighters in Longonot, Naivasha and Suswa Hill. Most of the time in August I stayed with the Kenya Inoro Army leaders

come and meet

the

1

copying

in their exercise

books examples of the various kinds of

records required to be kept and instructing on rules and regulations,

camp managements, Kenya Young

Stars Association,

Kenya-

Memorial Clubs, ceremonies, etc. By the end of August, I went to Ruthaithi in Gathee’s mbuci. On my second day, I was awakened at 6 a.m. by gun blustering about two miles away. Binihalis told me that Kenya Levellation Army camps were being raided by the enemy. We quickly packed and hid our luggage and kept sentries in all directions. Half an hour later, a few fighters from the attacked camps arrived. They were all badly scratched by thorny shrubs, looked very frightened and breathed rapidly. Three of them were in pyjamas. They told lekalo

us they

had been

surprisingly attacked

and could neither

fight

They

said

belongings.

property and even

The

when they were

all

asleep

nor had they any chance of collecting their that

they must have

lost

most of

their

lives.

following day

I

received news that seven of our fighters

had been killed in that raid and four others injured, and a good number were still missing but were hoped to be in other camps. On the third day all the fighters rejoined and resolved that there were

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

384 no more

including ten

homemade,

Informers at

Mweiga

Kenya Regiment had the previous week.

When

enemy captured 19 guns, blankets and camp utensils. Major Owen Jeoffreys of the

casualties but in the long run the

clothings,

told us that

led the raid that destroyed

in

asked Gathee to send scouts to Jeoffreys home.

I

the scouts returned they told

Mweiga H.Q. and

our fighters

that Jeoffreys

us

lived

at

that sometimes he slept at his mother’s house

on a farm not far from his own farm. They told us that he had removed all his livestock from his farm, which was about five miles from the forest border, and that his house was being taken care of by two men and a boy about sixteen years old who were good supporters and shared their flour to our fighters. He always visited his house in the morning and evening, leaving between 6 and 6 130 p.m. to join his comrades in their camp. Major Gathee and I planned to raid Major Jeoffreys’ home between 6 and 7 in the evening in an attempt to revenge for our fighters’

property

loss.

We

left

camp

4 p.m. with 28 itungati guns and six manufactured ones,

the

armed with a dozen homemade plus Binihalis and myself. We crossed p.m.

we were about

half a mile

at

,

the forest border at 5 p.m. At 6

from

his

home which

looked very

As we started descending the slope of a stream whose far slopes were his home we saw his car leaving the home. We crossed the river quickly, climbing its slope and arriving at his house at 6 145 p.m. His house servants welcomed us with njima and skimmed milk. After eating, Binihalis ordered the three house servants to have their hands tied with ropes. The head cook was asked to give all the keys of the home. Still tied, he led us into every room while the two sat down outside heavily guarded. We ransacked the house and took all his clothes, army uniforms, bedding, radio, hand sewing machine, new camera, medicine, near as the crow

flies.

tinned food, utensils,

etc.

In the sitting

room

I

busy starting to tear books he had taken from

warned him and others not

found one gitungati his big library

and

anything that we couldn't make use of but to take everything that we could use. In the store we found two bags of maize flour and some other empty bags. We searched for guns and ammunition but didn't I

to spoil

two sets of compasses. I carried the pocket compass and left the big one which was floating in spirits. When all was over, and our luggage well packed, Binihalis asked find any, instead finding

the servants to choose joining us or remaining there and serve their

THE TIDE The head cook

master.

IS

said that

if

TURNING

385

they were seen the following

day by their master, they would be called Mau Mau number one and it would be difficult for them to escape death. I asked the head cook, ‘Why haven’t you already become Mau Mau number one, since the emergency was declared almost two years ago?’

‘Because the European doesn’t

know

that

help the

I

fighters,’

he

replied.

“How do you

demanded. ‘I give them food and buy shop goods for them whenever they give me money or whenever I am sent by the village leader to buy some goods for the fighters.’ ‘And how do you help your master?’ I requested him. ‘I only help him in cooking his food and keeping his house,’ he help the fighters?’

I

replied.

‘You

Do you wear

!

for his wife?’ ‘Yes, I

I

do,’

I

the kanzu , the

woman’s frock when cooking

asked.

he admitted.

angrily slapped

woman!’

the face. ‘You

him on

shouted.

I

you “Boy” and you keep comforting the European and giving them much hope for staying here You really help the Europeans more than you help our fighters and claim !’ credit on both sides. Give them good spankings The angry itungati beat and kicked them for less than a minute. ‘Your master

calls

!

‘O.K. Stop ‘I

am

!’

I

commanded.

not a cook, I’m a driver,’ said the other, ‘but

helped the fighters very much.’ ‘Shut up!’ shouted an angry gitungati.

one

who

drives the

‘It

may

enemy when they come up

I

have

be you are the in

the forest or

whenever they go to attack our fighters in other areas.’ ‘Have you taken the Second Oath?’ enquired Binihalis. ‘Yes, we have !’ answered the head cook. ‘And why haven't you obeyed it?’ asked Binihalis. ‘We obey,’ said the head cook, ‘and we have never betrayed any of your fighters. Some of you have visited here several times and we have never mistreated you. King’ora Mutungi is the only leader

who knows

that

we

are trustworthy people.’

‘Your fighters were betrayed by a laborer son's farm,’ said the

who

lives in

Hutchin-

young boy.

“All right, good boy!’

I

said.

‘You

will tell us

more when we

!

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

386

them the heavy

get to the mbuci. Give

any

loads to carry. If

tries

Don’t think that you are enemies. No indeed, we know well that you are our great sympathizers, but you to escape just shoot him.

European supporters.’ Muirigo Show us the way,’

are also ‘

I

said Binihalis.

sent one gitungati to call the sentries

who were guarding

road coming to the house. Meanwhile Binihalis and

poured paraffin on the plant that supplied

store,

When

all

the sentries arrived, Binihalis

lit

the

the

entered the

I

light to the house.

empty bags

we

that

had poured paraffin on and we followed our people toward the forest. As we started climbing the far slope of the stream, the grassthatched store blazed, casting light on us which showed us the way. After crossing the forest border, we encamped some 400 yards inside. We opened tinned foodstuff's, cooked njima and enjoyed radio news. The three men repented and reported all the traitors and informers in Mweiga area. The following day we set off very early in the morning and tried to hide

our track as

from our camp,

first

much

passing

it

as possible.

We

and then coming

went

to the

far

away

camp from

the interior of the forest.

After our arrival in the camp,

and preserved

we

selected the best

army uniform

Kimathi along with the camera. Gathee, the camp leader took the second best, Binihalis and I took khaki uniforms. All the other clothing were distributed to all itungati. The unshared camp property was handed over to the storekeeper for it

for

safe keeping.

When

night came,

I

turned on the radio and listened to the

many reports The worst news

news. There were

Government forces colliding with our fighters. I gathered was the Government’s plan for digging a deep trench all around the Nyandarua and Kirinyaga forests that would prevent the fighters from entering of

the reserve.

The

following day,

Dear I

I

wrote a

letter to

Major Owen

Jeoffreys

:

Jeoffreys,

visited

your home on the previous night and found that you

were absent. I had come for the 19 guns, clothing and utensils you took away from our fighters at Ruthaithi last week. Though I

did not get the guns,

machine, camera,

I

managed

utensils, clothings,

to

get a radio, sewing

food and medicine.

THE TIDE Your

servants are

IS

now our

TURNING

387

What

active fighters.

I

have done

make you feel what I and my colleagues felt last week for your actions. Your unfriendly action resulted in a revenge. I wonder how much you expect to live in Kenya while you spend most of your time and energy in destroying the Kenya is

just to

Africans and creating enmity with us.

had been ordered by Kimathi, I would have put your living house on fire, but I spared it in order to prove to you that we are not so destructive as you might think. In fact, you must have seen that I stopped one warrior from tearing your books. All we want is freedom to form an African Government which will ban all discriminatory bars and extend individual freedom in movement, press and speech, give better pay and conditions to the workmen and If

had revenged

I

as

I

most important eliminate European’s selfishness and pride. We do not hate the white man’s color, but we cannot tolerate seeing a foreign settler with 50,000 acres of land, most of which only the wild

game

enjoy, while thousands of Africans are starving

hunger in their own country. Nor can we accept the white man to remain as a master and the African as a servant.

of

Your only

alternative

is

either cooperate with the Africans as

beings by creating friendship and good relationfor they ship which your bombs and guns will never achieve only increase enmity, or quit Kenya and leave the African to

equal

human

—

you through this letter that the more you fight the Africans, the more you endanger your future in Kenya. You cannot kill ideas by killing people. Since the declaration of emergency almost two years ago you have killed thousands of people, but you have neither killed the idea nor won the battle. Our battle is really between right

manage

his

own

affairs.

and might. The

six

I

intend to

million

make

it

clear to

Africans standing for right will

thousand Europeans standing for the might, irrespective of your army strength. I am afraid that your

definitely beat sixty

Government had

so

many

to see the simple facts

I

clever

and wise men that are

all

blind

have written you.

Your New Kenyan Brig.

Gen. Karari Njama

Chief Secretary,

September 1954

Kenya Parliament

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

388

addressed the letter and affixed the postage stamp and gave

I

to

Kenya

Levellation

Army

fighters

who promised

to post

it

it

the

following day at Nyeri Station.

meet Kimathi at Chania. My escorts carried Kimathi’s uniform and camera with no film which I presented to him on arrival, reporting my activities. Kimathi told me that some more Kenya Inoro Army had come with six Masai (half-breed Masai-Kikuyu) from Melili Forest (Narok) bringing him a Masai sword and spear, being a gift from the Masai fighters’ general, Ole Kisio. Kimathi ordered his spear be brought so that I could see it; his sword was still hanging on his left shoulder. He handed me the gifts which were very much decorated with beads and colors. I looked admiringly at them and told him it was a great honor from the Masai tribe and that many other gifts would come from all other tribes if they had a chance to communicate with us. The world had learned that Kimathi was the leader of the revolution, and it was bad for any other leader to compete for the leadership. Kimathi introduced me to the six Masai, including their leader,

The

following day

I

set off to

—

Gen. Kibati, fighters,

me

told

Masai

who

me

that he was leading

some 500 Kiambu

formerly Rift Valley dwellers, in the Opuru Forest. He that Ole Kisio and Ole Ngapien were leading over 800

fighters

Kiambu

told

in

fighters in

Melili Forest.

Longonot on

After talking with Kimathi,

He his

met 400 other Nyandarua.

said that he

way

to

we decided

to hold

an extraordin-

ary general meeting before the annual general meeting. The meeting was to be held at Mihuro in November 24-25. We arranged that

Kiambu

could return to Kiambu in order to mobilize and organize other fighters in their area. We believed all

that there

was

fighters

time for the Masai fighters to go and return to the general meeting. We informed the Masai fighters that sufficient

they were registered in the Gikuyu and Mumbi Trinity Army. We asked them to send in the names of their fighters properly registered according to the patterns I gave them for every record to be kept.

We

wrote

army

letters to leaders in Melili,

thanked Ole Kisio and

his

and invited all the leaders to attend a general meeting which would prepare the annual general election for for the gifts

Kenya Parliament Members and extend our movement to other Kenya tribes. So we left Chania with Kenya Inoro Army fighters and parted

the

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

with them at Nguthiru [Moorlands]. Kimathi and

389 I

were to

visit

the

—

Kinangop Kipipiri, Wanjohi Valley and Subuk Plateau. We crossed the Nyandarua ridge a few miles west of its peak and soon came to a big tract of rocks and caves and scattered grass and shrub. Here we sat down on the rocks facing the afternoon sun trying to capture its warmth at 12,000 feet above the sea level. Though the weather was very bright, it was still cold and wet on the grass while solid rocks radiated some

Mburu Ngebo Army

little

in

the North

heat.

Here was the

best place

I

had ever

visited for a geologist to study

how the weathering process broke the hard solid rock into soil. The heavy rain water runs over the impenetrable rocks just on the old glaciers trails. The heat and cold, implementing expansion and contraction, have created many cracks in which mosses and lichens grow and slowly continue to wear away the rocks. The oxygen combined with water eaten

away

in

basins or pot-like hollows causing rust has

the rocks.

The heavy water dropping on

rocks 20-30

below making cavities and general decay process can be seen in layers of rocks where water has made a deep gully. One could see different type of rocks here and there. While I was interested in the rocks, some of my comrades were interested in looking at the Europeans’ farms with their large fields of green wheat and barley. Being busy in mind, we were approached by three other fighters whom we saw only a hundred yards from us. We recognized them to be our fighters and on the arrival we found that they were Ngara’s itungati who had gone

feet

round searching for honey in caves and rock cavities. They showed us where their camp was situated far below in small shrubs. Observing the area with our binoculars, we saw the people. They had not found any honey but they carried fat and well-roasted meat which they gave us. While we were eating they told us that many IDA 2 and 3 companies and their sections encamped in that area, including Stanley Mathenge, whose camp was another one and a half days’ walk according to their estimation. Kimathi asked them whether they knew where any of the Murang’a fighters’ camps were situated.

They

told us that they

ago who

had parted with

Gati’s itungati a

lived in a big cave, pointing to the southwest.

few hours

They told us

mbuci was in touch with many others living in Kipipiri and Wanjohi Valley. Kimathi asked them whether they could that Gati’s

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

390

lead us to Gati’s camp.

They

agreed, suggesting the journey for

the following day, giving an excuse that the

mbuci was

far

away.

descended slowly passing through grass, small bushes and into lilishwa bushes with scattered cedar and pondo trees. We finally arrived at Ngara’s mbuci in the evening. There were no

We

huts.

They

slept in tents or

under the

trees.

On

our arrival we

were welcomed by Ngara and his itungati. After prayers, Kimathi and I spoke to the fighters. He told them all about the Kiambu and Masai fighters, the Kenya Parliament and its works, etc. I told them of the mission I had led and how I had missed them and then told them about the other missions. That night we were served with roasted meat for dinner and broth. During our talks Ngara thanked me for my suggestion of taking his itungati to Rift Valley. He told me that though it was

were all as dirty as garage men), he had found plenty of food and had restored his management and he could see a great difference between his camp and a komerera mbuci though his itungati preferred to difficult for his itungati to get clothes there (they

—

store personal rations in

which could last them at least five days if they were dispersed by the enemy. We informed Ngara of the General Meeting to be held at Mihuro on 24th-25th November and asked him to keep it a secret from his fighters until the meeting was over. We warned him how bad it would be for our warriors if the Government knew when and where a meeting was to be held. The following day we set off towards Gati’s camp accompanied by Ngara. Walking on rocks and little grass we saw four itungati who wore bushbucks’ skins only a few yards from us. The skin’s their kitbags

color could not be easily differentiated

from the background of

and stones on which they lay. After greetings, we sat on their cave and we did not know where their cave was until they told us. As they were telling us about their cave and how we could meet other fighters, Gati and two other fighters arrived carrying two rocks

deers’ meat. After

we

exchanging greetings with Gati and his itungati

entered the cave.

It

was big enough

to

accommodate more than

people and was situated among rocks and the cave was a heap of bones of the animals

fifty

They

all

wore animal

skins

and seemed

,

little grass.

Inside

they had trapped.

to be professional trappers.

Gati and twenty-one other itungati lived entirely on trapping and collecting honey. He gave us the names of

the leaders in Kipipiri

1

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

39

Mt. and Wanjohi Valley. Kimathi wrote letters to seven of them asking them to meet us at Gati’s cave on the third day. While some itungati were cooking some meat for us, Gati told us of another cave about six miles away, pointing to the south. He said that it was big enough to accommodate a hundred persons but

had been surrounded at night by the enemy the week before who opened fire to sixty of our fighters who lived in the cave. Though none of these fighters knew the exact loss we had suffered in that cave, they knew that there were deaths, casualties and captives. Kimathi expressed his feelings, objecting to living in a cave. Gati told us of a witchdoctor-prophet who lived in Kipipiri Mt. and claimed that Ngai used to speak to him at night in a dream it

and all that he wanted the fighters to do. He said that one day he had called a big meeting on top of the hill and had conducted prayers and ceremony in which God sent him a book written in all the world’s languages and writings [i.e., scripts] revealing the future

and which

tells

the future of our country.

Kimathi, though sceptical of the story, did not argue or comment on it but he said that he would be glad to meet Muraya and listen to his prophesy. After eating the boiled meat, we returned to Ngara’s

us

told

fighters,

that

such

should be

false in

in the evening.

met

mislead

our

among our

killed.

Ngara and

I

visited

itungati slaughtering cattle

his

being suspicious that the

Mamwamba’s

enemy might

Gicuki Wacira’s

which they had fighters.

Kimathi,

follow their cattle enquired

was unsafe to stay in the camp and the leaders that he would rather spend the day out of the

about

camp

sentries.

He

thought

it

in a private place.

We the

way Kimathi

the

a position of gaining confidence

raided jointly with Thiong’o’s and

told

On

who might

witchdoctors,

following day Kimathi,

We

camp.

,

and yet were

fighters

The

mbuci arriving

spent the day in the bush and in the evening

camp and

talked to all itungati of the three

we enjoyed dinner

of the fresh beef.

We

we

mbuci

,

returned to after

which

informed the leaders of

the General Meeting.

The

following day

Gicuki joining

us.

we headed

We

for Gati’s cave with

Thiong’o and

passed near Ngara’s and arrived at Gati’s

We

found four of the seven leaders that Kimathi had written awaiting us. Three were unknown to me. I knew Gakure Karuri before, a prominent leader in the

cave at one

in the afternoon.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

392

Gikuyu Iregi Army. After a short talk with them, Kimathi told me that Gakure would guide him to tour the Gikuyu Iregi Army sections and that I should visit Mburu Ngebo Army sections and try to bring Stanley Mathenge to the meeting. He remarked that I should be at Mihuro Memorial Hall working in my office at least a week before the meeting in order to see that my record books were up to date and prepare a report on the Kenya Parliament since it was elected. I pointed out that I wanted to see the ioo-person cave before I lost the chance. Gakure said that he would lead us there and tour in a nearby mbuci. Ngara decided to return and we started our journey.

We

empty cave at four in the afternoon. The front face of the cave had many grenade and bullet marks. A flock of hyenas had visited and cleaned the cave, leaving some old bones to be seen here and there. We entered the cave and, finding it dark, became afraid of enemy mines and quickly walked out without a thorough investigation. We sat out on the cave which was covered by grass on top and discussed about it. The old bones and broken pots proved that the cave had been used by Dorobo and probably by Gumban trappers and some old men said that Dorobo arrived at the

were known to have twentieth century.

lived in those caves at the

That made me think

of the

beginning of the

myth

told

by the

Gikuyu people that the Gumba were known to disappear underground to their homes and reappear again some hundred yards away, and finally they disappeared in those holes altogether; it

made me

think that those caves were the holes referred to by the myth. 1 he disappearance of the Gumba, which is misrepresented

by the legend, was that Gikuyu people intermarried with the Gumba and their offsprings were known as Dorobo or Athi in

Kikuyu cave

(trappers or hunters).

in Kipipiri

lived far

area were evicted by the colonial

gether with the Masai and

Mokogondu

The Dorobo who moved

north of Nanyuki.

A

below the

Government

to-

to the

Northern Province in few Dorobo who had escaped

eviction because of living in the forests started seeking employment from the Kenya settlers as herdsmen after the First World War.

Before leaving the cave

we were

told that

two miles below that on whose edge grows cedar trees.

cave was a steep 150 foot cliff In one of those trees were bees, living 120 feet high.

had

tiied to get that

A man who

honey many years ago, maybe a Dorodo

fell

THE TIDE

IS

and stuck on the tree and remains on the tree a hundred feet high.

None

of the leaders could

tell

TURNING of his bones

393

were

still

us the loss our fighters

hanging

had

suf-

and we had not reached the mbuci we were going to. We left the cave and arrived where we were going at six o’clock. We found that the mbuci had been

fered in that cave.

deserted.

It

was getting

Kimathi objected

late

to returning to Gati’s cave.

leaders said that one of his trapping sections

was

One

of the

living at Kiarucibi,

middle of Nyandarua and suggested that we’d better go there instead of searching a place for a night’s camp. At sunset we were in the middle of the Nyandarua plateau passing round a little lake which was clear and looked like water right in the

Beside

in a rock basin.

it

many

were

different kinds of animals

feeding on the high grass in large herds. Looking around, the nearest tree would be some three miles away. If any of the

animals challenged it,

instead

us, there

we would have

was no chance of running away from

to charge. Nevertheless, all the animals

stood gazing at us, including the rhinos, while zebras, buffaloes and their families ran

away.

Among

we saw two domestic and a cow that had joined

the flocks

donkeys which had joined the zebras a buffalo herd; they behaved as the wild animals did.

The

darkness

came before we got

many approached the camp we fighters speak. One of the increased

so

that

of

us

mbuci and the cold

to the

started

shivering.

When we

and hear our Kipipiri leaders signalled by whistling and, at the return of his signals, he was asked to introduce himself. We then entered the camp. It had small huts and no kitchen. The eighteen itungati happily and surprised, welcomed us. I he visitors, eight leaders and 33 itungati could not be accommodated could smell their

fire

,

was night and we could neither build firewood. The tents we had were insufficient for still had plenty of fresh beef ready roasted. As we

in the three small huts. It

huts nor collect

our itungati.

We

were eating and before we had gained sufficient warmth, all the wood in the camp got finished. I went in my tent and lay myself on the cold grass, wrapping in a blanket. It was a cold night. The following morning was very cloudy and I forecasted possible our rains. We parted with Kimathi. Thiong’o, Wacira and I made

way along

the mid-ridge track toward the north.

By midday we

mountain peak and hailstones were pouring on us. 1 his was accompanied by a strong cold wind. A few minutes later, we

were

at the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

394 were as wet as stones

We

fish in

formed an

a river and as cold as a toad, and the hail-

ice-sheet that covered the

Moorlands.

continued our journey on the open grasslands

in

spite of

and two hours later we crossed the NderagwaDeighton Downs jeep track which [now] brings visitors to the top of the mountain. Here we learned that only little rain had fallen. The rain decreased as we approached the forest. We arrived in Thiong’o’s mbuci at five in the evening. His itungati were very happy to see us again after spending two days and a night away. I cried for fire for I felt that my right arm and leg were completely numb. In fact, it took me three days to regain my strength on these limbs and aching pains continued in the interior of my bones for almost a fortnight. Here I stayed during the last week of September and twice corresponded with Stanley Mathenge and arranged to go see him. On October ist I left for Njau Kiore’s mbuci where I found Stanley Mathenge who welcomed me. We first talked about safaris and general events that had happened since we parted. We discussed as I told him about the formation of the Kenya Parliament, China s negotiation talks, the election of local committees in those difficulties

Othaya, the Kiambu fighters, the Masai fighters, the missions we had sent to our fighters and other tribes, the letters we had sent

and received from abroad, the Kenya Parliament management, the General Meeting to be held November ith and the annual general i

Kenya Parliament membership. I explained to him how Othaya leaders had confidence in him and how we wanted him to rise and maintain his leadership position. I told him that Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council of which he was the Chairman had failed to meet even once for a period of election for the

sixteen

months

was

elected. He claimed that the Council’s General Secretary, Dedan Kimathi, should also share the blame. I agreed, but mentioned that Kimathi, as an individual, had done a lot of work for Ituma’s itungati and

since

it

had

visited nearly all

itungati in

Nyandarua and had sent his management to other fighters who had recognized him as the head of the revolution. I told him that as head of Ituma, he had failed to visit

they entered the

IDA

i

since

though he had only met a few of them by chance at Kariaini H.Q. He admitted his failures and told me that he had left it because it was Kimathi’s home and he believed that Kimathi had the right forest,

THE TIDE

TURNING

IS

395

and that Kimathi would be possibly jealous on seeing someone else organizing his home. I told him that suspicion had misled him and that he wrongly thought that he could win people by being quiet and inactive while Kimathi believed in the contrary. I told him that activities proved abilities. I informed him that leaders and itungati wanted to see him in the general meeting. I warned him that his failure to attend the two proposed general meetings would lead to Ituma’s general election which would cast him off his chair and probably he would have no chances of rising to that level again. I asked him why he had failed to cooperate with Kimathi for to organize

it

the last fifteen months. In his reply he referred to the bullet in the

and confirmed that he believed that any competition between him and Kimathi might lead to great hatred and possibly incident

fire

to the death of

told

I

one of them.

was our greatest weakness and defeat us. I confirmed to him that

him

that their division

might help the enemy to Kimathi realized the danger of

their division

willing to discuss their differences

and

all I

told

in

way

a brotherly

him

that

had

I

and

get

it

and was settled

the time

all

once and for

strengthen the unity of our team.

tried all

I

could to investigate about the

from the itungati who were in the camp the night of the incident. The truth was that the bullet was put inside bamboo while collecting firewood by Murang’a itungati intending only to frighten and astonish the leaders. Generally the bamboos bullet incident

store

water

water is

explodes

hollow cavities between the nodes. When the boils and when steam tries to escape it always

in their

heated, like

it

You must have

a bullet.

experienced

this several times.

would never be discovered and the frightened leaders would only conclude that it was a very strong

The

thought

itungati

bamboo

explosion.

them

was

it

‘In fact,’

The

just fun.

that the itungati I

it

had

said,

itungati did not

mean

to

harm anyone;

to

seriously

But the leaders took the matter so

to hide the truth for their safety.

‘it

is

still

a fun to the itungati for they laugh ,

your hatred and suspicions based on the bullet incident when are neither you nor Kimathi was connected to it to them, you at

—

both

He

fools.’

said that

I

was

so frank

and helpful

to

him

that

I

cleared

very sorry for blamassumption. ing Kimathi and building a strong suspicion on a false

away

all his

doubts.

He

expressed

how he

felt

,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

39^

Before leaving him, he promised

me

that he

would attend the

Mihuro General Meeting. gave a speech to 128 itungati and leaders

mbuci where Mathenge lived. He praised me and the Kenya Parliament work but complained that I had helped other divisions more than I had helped my own division. He criticized me that I had made North Tetu my H.Q. or home and toured my own division as a visitor. He praised the old days when I lived with him at Kariaini and welcomed me to live with them, saying that I should know that I

home

is

the

starting point

division, district, province

that

it

was

—

village,

in the

then sub-location, location,

and then the Kenya Parliament. He

said

a person to be elected as a Kenya Parliaunless he was supported by his home constituency

difficult for

ment member

who would

him from their region. He stressed that the Kenya Parliament membership should be based on regions. I tried to tell them that one could become a popular statesman without seeking favor or election from his region. I told them that Kenyatta was not elected by the Kiambu people in order to become the leader of the Kenya African Union. I warned them that to become a statesman was a skill and not a favor as they thought. I neighbors

elect

quickly learned that they did not agree with my logic as they had been convinced by Stanley Mathenge that ‘Kamwene Kambagio ira kari thongo .’ ‘Ones

own

son

no matter his disabilities.’ The saying had traditionally originated from mundo mugos practices on [initiation] ceremonies whereby his son had to be the first initiated under all circumstances. The saying, however, has strong ties on self first and then next closest of relative or neighbor. first

3

This

selfish-

prevents one from seeing other people’s interest and hindrance of national progress. ness

is

a

After spending a week with Mathenge in his mbuci he accompanied me to tour the nearby camps. We first

visited Gen. Makanyanga’s mbuci where we were greatly welcomed. My speech in this camp mostly confirmed what Makanyanga had said before and the itungati were fully convinced of our victory and the Kenya Parliament managements. Many of the Makanyanga itungati were born and bred in the Rift Valley. They

knew

the Rift Valley so

mbuci from the Central Province Reserve depended guidance and scouting.

well that other

on their

Three days later we visited one of the IDA 2 sections under Kibicho where we were guided by Makanyanga and his itungati.

a

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

397 Makan-

Here we covered our program, moving on to another of yanga’s sections led by Col Githengera, where we were greatly received and fed on very fat mutton from Fletcher’s farm settler who owned more than 12,000 wool sheep (Merinos). Most of the camps I had visited had no huts and only a few tents for shelters and many slept under trees in the open. Most of the itungati were dressed in oily dirty stinky rags. A few had started making animal skin coats, jumpers, caps and pants. Their hair, which had not been shaved nor combed for more than two years and which was generally smeared with animal oil, had grown long, curling and falling over their forefaces and ears. Many of the fighters had lost their weight and their bright faces had turned to be thin and black. The general report from the leaders said that there was a general increase in komereras, whereby five or ten itungati ran away from their leaders in order to set up a camp of their own in the small forests and bushes right inside the settlers’ farms. The reasons for this were to escape from both leaders’ rules and the forest heavy bombing, lust for leadership in some itungati and lastly to live as

—

,

near as possible to the food supplies.

encouraging our

After

fighters,

returned to the camps and

I

Mathenge and Makanyanga

continued a day’s walk to Kahiu-

mbuci at Nderagwa. To my surprise, I found that KahiuItina had greatly changed. He was against Kimathi, claiming that Kimathi had not given the other leaders chances of rising; he lived better than anybody else, ordered everyone to be inspected when entering his camp thus showing that he did not have confidence Itina’s

—

in his people.

He

criticised the

Kenya Parliament

for being con-

by Kimathi during Wambararia’s case and claimed that he had learned that all the uneducated members of the Kenya Parliament were merely stone walls which protected the educated members to carry on their plans and possibly to build on their future. He claimed that education and illiteracy could not work trolled

together.

He

were somehow affiliated which were totally of the missionaries

said that all educated people

to the religion

and

faith

—

and revolution. He claimed that since the educated people had abandoned the revolution, it should then be against

led

Kikuyu

by the

religion

illiterate

people

who

stand for

the majority in the country, he said,

and

it.

The

illiterate are in

since the educated persons

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

398

chose to hide during the war, they should continue to hide during peace.

‘We must the

in

our

see that

illiterate leaders here, in

managements hold

future

all

the high

the reserve positions

in

and our

Government,’ he said. In general, he objected to being led by an educated person, saying that they were more Europeanized; no matter whether they were leaders in the the old customs

of

and

tribal

forests,

tradition

they rejected

many

which Kahiu-Itina and

many others believed we were fighting for as part of our freedom. He claimed that Stanley Mathenge had been ignored by the Kenya Parliament because he was

illiterate.

argued that he was not ignored and that for the last two weeks I had lived with Mathenge and had been able to settle everything with him. He then said that Mathenge was a hypocrite and did I

not

let

know

people

his wishes or feelings.

Itina hated all educated persons for

I

learned that Kahiu-

he couldn’t

rise

among them.

His desire for power had generated the hatred.

had weak arguments for defending the educated persons as my attempt would only make him mark me as an opponent. I explained to him the differences between literacy and religion, technical skill and wisdom, and supported him that the revolution had been carried on by the ignorant people who deserved some honor for their bravery and perseverance. I pointed out to him that it would be difficult for the illiterate people to lead the educated I

persons, as

it

is

for the blind to lead

honorably put them

one with

eyes.

But we could

high Government posts knowing that their deputies and advisors are capable persons and that they would act according to their advice. Kahiu-Itina, who did not know the difin

ference between a clerk

and a secretary, was very pleased with my comment, he thought that deputy was another name for clerk. Wishing to change the subject, I told him of the Kiambu leaders and their itungati and the six Masai who had brought gifts to Kimathi from Gen. Ole Kisio, and their promise of attending a general meeting to be held at I

was going round

He

told

me

Mihuro on 24 November and which

telling all the leaders.

that he

would not attend the meeting as he intended to go to Dorobo (North Nanyuki) and recruit them, the Dorobo, after which he would convene a meeting of all the illiterate leaders and discuss their security and their future positions. I tried to convince him to attend the meeting but he finally

THE TIDE

IS

held his decision claiming that eight

TURNING members

of the

399 Kenya

Parlia-

ment were all from North Tetu Location, even though three of them (including himself) represented the Rift Valley where they were found by the emergancy. I reminded him that during the election he was the person who defeated the others in votes, and that his failure to attend the meeting would be his failure to represent the itungati who elected him. He replied that the itungati who elected him were still living with him and that they knew very well whether he led them well or not.

He

Though

told

me

that his itungati

had confidence

in him.

was neither satisfied with his reasons nor his intentions, I couldn’t get any more information because he concealed the base of his dissatisfaction and the reasons for convening a meeting. Though I remained sceptical of his motives, I was certain that his section leaders, Ndiritu Thuita and Vindo, both solid members of Kenya Parliament, were not behind him. I

Nevertheless, Kahiu-Itina allowed

me

to speak to the

48 itungati which he had most of his itungati being in distant camps under Ndiritu Thuita and Vindo and a few of them had become komerera in the settled area. One of the things that I learned was that Kahiu-

—

had dropped most of the leader’s privileges and was living almost at the same level with his itungati so as to enable him to preach equality in order to gain popularity by criticising the other leaders. October 20th found me still with Kahiu-Itina. He suggested that the day should be a public holiday and also a prayer day to commemorate Kenyatta’s arrest and the declaration of the emergency. I remarked that it was all right to make the day Kenyatta’s holiday but the day was absolutely unfit to commemorate the emergency miseries. The end of the emergency would be more important than its beginning. Very little damage was done on that day and even some weeks after, but to commemorate all the emergency miseries the best day would be the end of the emergency. Though we did not resolve anything, we held prayers at midnight in the memory of two years of suffering. On the 22nd I left Kahiu-Itina heading to Kimbo’s at Ngobit in Lower Nderagwa or Deighton Downs. At midday, I and my three itungati found ourselves on a table-like level ground on which Itina

grew many scattered big trees and green undergrowth grass. Under one of those big trees, we found the remains of a waterbuck carcass. It seemed to have been killed by a leopard or a lion.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

400

To

our surprise, a very big

suspiciously

looking at

running away.

I

us.

lion lay

My

twenty yards

frightened

in front of us

itungati

shouted to them not to run away.

We

commenced planned how

which was only clear enough for one to see ioo yards under the trees, it became difficult for us to know which was east or west. I had offered Kimathi the little compass which I had obtained from Major Jeoffreys. We depended on guessing. We continued our journey and at four o’clock in the afternoon we found ourselves again at to deviate the sleeping lion. In the levelled forest

the lion’s stored food. time,

we became very

mercy

Though we

didn’t see the lion for a second

frightened of being lost and being under the

of the lion.

Fear drove us quickly from the scene and following our shadow cast by the setting sun we hurried due east. Night came; we were

There was no sign of water anywhere near us. We chose a tree that could shelter us from rain and which we could easily climb if any animal challenged us. We collected a lot of firewood old logs which would keep our fire burnstill

in that black sea-like area.

—

ing through the night.

We

roasted our meat and after dinner

to die of thirst.

We

kept awake

we

felt as if

we were going

morning and continued our journey as the sun rose and moved facing it as our guide. It was not long before we started climbing a steep hill following an animal path. When we came to the top, we were very glad to see Kirinyaga and many valleys which drain to the river Ngobit. As we descended the hill, we came across an animal path which was used by buffaloes going to munyu mweru white salts, where they enjoyed the natural salts. Kimbo’s mbuci was situated in this area. till

,

We

followed the path passing through grass and bushes, small bamboo bushes and finally in the thicket of bamboo arrived at

Kimbo’s in the afternoon. Kimbo welcomed me. I told him all about my journey and all that had happened since we parted. Instead of telling me about his mbuci he asked my why I did not call any of the Mburu Ngebo Army members of ,

the

Kenya

Par-

liament to hear the case of Wambararia. replied that the case

was a matter of great urgency that we could not wait for them. I added that though the eight ’members were sufficient to form a quorum, the case was not heard by the I

Kenya Parliament members

who were

invited

by Kimathi

[alone] to

for there

hear the case.

were eight leaders

THE TIDE ‘That case

made

IS

us think that

TURNING

401

Kenya Parliament was Kimathi’s

wall and power for achieving his ends,’ said Kimbo.

him that he should raise the matter to the Kenya Parliament members when they met at Mihuro. I hoped that he would receive supporters as there was a lot of complaints about I

suggested to

the case.

He

doubted of attending the meeting, but I told him of all the leaders whom I knew that had promised to come, including Mathenge. I mentioned that only Kahiu-Itina was not attending the meeting, partly because he shared his feelings and partly because

he intended to leave Nyandarua

Kimbo

me

forest.

and a few others had talked and agreed to form a new association which would be exclusively organized by the illiterate leaders. I tried to persuade him to criticise the Parliament and to better it by any amendments within it. He told me that it was difficult for anyone to appeal Wambararia’s case or to amend the Kenya Parliament under Kimathi told

that he, Kahiu-Itina

without creating enmity.

warned him

would also create enmity. He replied that an enemy within its party had no defense but an enemy from another party would be defended by I

that even forming another association

his party. I

asked him what were the real causes of forming another party,

which would only divide our

fighters,

so that

could raise the

I

matter to the Kenya Parliament for amendment.

He

the reason was that Kimathi had ignored Stanley elected leader because he

ing

the

‘Yes,

revolution

yes,

when

it

was

illiterate

and instead

me

told

that

Mathenge the he was promot-

men’ who disassociated themselves with the

became

red-hot, being afraid of death

—while

were afraid of the same fate. I told him that Kimathi had not ignored Mathenge, in fact he loved him and always tried to pull the reluctant Mathenge. I told him it was only three weeks ago since Mathenge promised me to attend the meeting so that they could settle their differences once illiterate leaders

for

all.

I

told

him

that

I

would be

their conciliator

and

I

wished

he could be at the meeting to witness for himself. He told me that he would write Mathenge asking him whether he had promised to attend the meeting; if Mathenge was attending he would attend, and he would never attend any other meeting which would not be attended by Mathenge. He said that Mburu

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

402

Ngebo Army people were

and that they wouldn't like to see a person from the Central Province becoming their master who would divide unto them their lands. They preferred to have a Rift Valley born and bred leader at the top. After a week with Kimbo, I left his mbuci on the 30th October with his guides toward Ndungu’s, whose camp was at Ruhotie stream. On our way we stopped twice to collect honey from beehives. At 4 p.m. we arrived at Ndungu’s deserted camp. The camp seemed to have been raided by the enemy. We vainly continued the owners of Rift Valley

new camp till sunset. We encamped for the night in one of the Amboni (Honi) River tributaries. The following day we continued our search up to midday. It became certain that we could not find their mbuci. Kimbo’s searching their

itungati decided to return.

Ruthaithi which

I

The following any camp down mbuci

at

decided to continue

my

journey to

thought to be the nearest possible area for

to find other fighters.

stream that drains

I

in

At sunset the four of us encamped Munigato stream.

day,

November

the stream.

at

me

Thara

we continued our search for Luckily we found Major Gathee’s 1st,

midday. Gathee and Binihalis were glad to meet

me

them all that had happened since we parted. Gathee told me that his mbuci was attacked at 9 p.m. by enemies who killed five of his itungati captured two, injured four, and captured four manufactured guns and three homemade guns. The last two again.

I

told

,

manufactured guns disappeared with four other itungati in the settled area about a week before. Whether the itungati had fallen

Government s hands or had become komereras was unknown. The enemy had seen us during the day,’ said Gathee, ‘and then hid themselves. As we made fires and started cooking, they into

approached our camp

in the

us with lights of our

fires.

food but

dark but they had the benefit of seeing We finished cooking and dishing out

when we

started eating, the enemies opened fire at very close range, aiming at the persons who carried guns. have lost eleven fighters since you left us and four others

We

are in hospital.’

‘Now they would be

healed,’ said Binihalis. ‘I know that you have a good healing hand. We have medicine but we have run short of food. We have gone three days since we cut our rations in half.

which

is

We

are using a tea cup to measure daily ration, half of wild vegetables and some maize grains.

Yesterday morning our itungati arrived from the reserve gardens with no food at all.

THE TIDE They

IS

TURNING

403

were the only crops in the gardens, which would be ready in two weeks time.’ I told them that some of the mbuci I had visited lived on trapping, if they would go to Ruthaithi where the animals are so abundant they would have been happy. ‘I know you do not have trapping equipment; you are inexperienced and you could not rely on traps. You should attempt to steal settlers’ cattle as far as 20 miles inside

said that beans

the settled area where they wouldn’t expect our fighters

to go.’

Gathee remarked that the itungati had become scared for being poorly armed. Binihalis said that he would lead them to steal cattle but he would first consult the nearby mbuci so that they can jointly raid cattle with the help of their guns.

Three days later, Binihalis hadn’t succeeded in convincing other mbuci to join him in a cattle raid. In spite of searching honey, wild vegetables and trapping small animals and birds, hunger was still increasing daily. I complained for the patients. Without proper feeding, it would be difficult for the patients to recover. Food was the basic medicine; a healthy body would be able to resist diseases and recover easily from wounds. Binihalis led a group of eleven itungati to the settled area armed with only four homemade guns and another officer led ten itungati to the reserve gardens armed with only three homemade guns. The hospital had just one homemade gun to defend. In the camp there was only one fighter with a homemade gun to guard Major Gathee, four girl fighters and myself. That night we had a few bites of wild vegetables, hatha. At

—

about 9 p.m. thunderous heavy rain fell the stormy rainy season had started and we only prayed that rain would be able to chase

away our enemies from

their

ambushes

so that

our fighters

may

bring us food the following day.

At eight in the morning the reserve group arrived, each carrying a heavy burden of raw beans. Some had a few bananas, cucumbers, potatoes and arrow roots. They told us that they’d made fire and roasted bananas and potatoes for their dinner. They had nothing ready for us to

eat. All the

food they had could

last

the

camp

for

The girls hid the food that had been brought and we all went to warm ourselves, sending the only rested gitungati left in the camp to guard the track of the reserve group. At 10 a.m. Binihalis entered the camp with 27 fat calves, between only two days.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

404

Gathee and I quickly killed the calves. The itungati had killed one calf for their dinner the night before. They gave us the roasted meat to help ourselves. The itungati who had come from safari were still wet, tired and sleepy. I asked Gathee to post sentries to guard the calves’ track lest the enemies followed it; helped by the same rain that had helped our fighters, it would be easy for them to see the foot marks in the mud. He nominated two itungati to keep sentry. As I looked at them, I became fully convinced that they were going to sleep in the track which enemies had to follow. Their lives as well as ours were still in danger. I asked them to return and help the others to slay calves if they could. I said that I would keep the sentry and asked for the best rifles. Binihalis offered me his gun with only two bullets, .44 and -375? both could fit in the homemade gun which was a pattern of the manufactured guns. He warned me that his gun was loaded, as he had loaded it the night before. He showed me a patch of grass on the other side of the Thara stream, saying that I could see the enemy coming far from there. one and two and a half years

old.

After descending half the slope,

saw a good place for an ambush. I sat down and continued to eat meat and watching the far side of the slope in the grassland area. At midday, mist increased so that I could only see 50 yards. The weather changed from warm to cold and I changed my position. I thought that I was very near the camp and so I walked down to the stream. The calves had crossed the stream at a buffaloes’ crossing and drinking path. The river bank gave me a very good strategy position. The area was covered by bamboo mixed with coniferous trees. At about two in the afternoon, two Kenya Ng’ombe officers I

commanding a dozen well-armed African emergency soldiers arrived at the river. They paused and their chief tracker, who seemed

to be a

the rivei

Samburi, pointed out where the calves had crossed at a point about ten yards wide. His officer refused and

without talking signalled the others to move upstream. About 20 yards further the river had a big bend and a steep wall on my side after which there was a good crossing point. He pointed where they were to cross the river three people at a time.

changed my position and standing less than ten yards from them, I aimed so that a single bullet could pass through three of I

them.

then pulled the trigger but failed to release my bullet. quickly tried a second time with failure. I changed the I

bullet

I

and

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

405

by the time I was ready to fire, the first two men had crossed the river and were only seven yards from me and about three yards below me thus making it impossible for me or them to shoot one another. When the second group reached in the middle of the river,

I

The

pulled noise

my

trigger but

made by

it

failed to discharge.

the flowing water over stones prevented

them

from hearing the cracks made by my gun. Nevertheless two people on the other bank of the river became very suspicious, as if they had heard me. I ran down-stream some 20 yards away and stood against a big muna tree. I put a whistle in my mouth and blew it so that mv comrades in the mbuci could hear me or the enemv / *

firing.

When

the

enemy

failed to

open

dred yards from them, climbing the shouted as hard as

I

on me,

fire

hill.

I

made

There,

I

off

a hun-

paused and

could in English, Swahili and Kikuyu, each

announced the number of the enemy, where they were, how they were armed and ordered a strong force to be sent to meet them down the stream. I said another group be sent to ambush them on their way returning home. I became doubtful whether my propaganda had scared the time trying to create a different voice.

enemy

for they did not fire a single shot.

I

I

quickly ran to the

camp

and found that my comrades had gone. I carried a big piece of fatty meat and followed their track. After a short distance I lost their track for they had done their best to hide it. I continued searching them till six in the evening but all in vain. I made my mind to go to the hospital. I found that six persons in the hospital had nothing to eat. They were very glad when they saw me carrying about forty pounds of meat. We all ate to our fill and had a little left

for breakfast.

At midday, I and the two itungati who attended the patients went to spy whether the enemies had entered the camp. We first went down to the river where I had left them. We found that they did not pass there. I had scared them with my propaganda. We followed their footsteps and became certain that they left the area. We climbed the hill and entered the mbuci. We found our beef was still safe. We hung the meat on the trees and wrote a note saying that I was in the hospital. We carried as much meat as we could

and returned itungati

to hospital.

On

our arrival

who had brought meat

at hospital,

for the patients

we found

four

from the new

mau mau from within

406

camp. As they were

where they were encamped, another The latter had gone to spy the old camp and

telling us

four itungati arrived.

had seen

my

note.

them what had happened during my sentry time. The useless gun was still laying where I had dropped it the night before. I picked it up saying that a club was better than it was. It was still loaded and I pulled the trigger. It thunderously bursted knocking me down. We all then started checking what had been wrong with the gun. We resolved that rain water had entered every part of the gun and had weakened the spring. The itungati condemned the homemade guns as being inefficient but I encourI

started

telling

aged them, saying that

it

might have been that the spring of that

gun was weak. Nevertheless, the itungati insisted that many of the homemade guns behaved that way and sometimes became a danger when exposing to the enemy; but they worked

particular

pretty well during fine weather.

During

my

two weeks

many

learned that

at Ruthaithi,

I

many camps

visited

in

which

were no longer willing to serve their leaders. This teaching, mostly from komerera and Kenya Levellation Army, had first been heard of in August in IDA 3/1 where Joseph Mbaya, one of my location who had come from Nairobi, was alleged [to be] instructing our itungati not to serve their I

He

leaders.

itungati

claimed that our fathers had been enslaved by Euro-

peans, carrying their safari food, tents

and other belongings. He

had mentioned MacLoah,’ who was well known in the early days in Nyeri and Fort Hall, saying that he was carried on shoulders by African servants from one camp to another. Mbaya had compared the leaders with MacLoah, accusing them to itungati that they never went to war, but only sent itungati to die; that they never went out to fetch their own food, [but] were fed with the best food available at the cost of itungati lives.

Their tents and belongings were always carried by itungati they never collected firewood or made their own fires, yet they were the most famous fighters. He had told the itungati that they were fighting ;

for

leaders’ slavery

and not

was equality of

anyone

s

that

itungati

formances.

He

them that the true persons in which one was free from He d cursed all the leaders’ privileges and suggested

liberty

rule.

for freedom.

told

all

could socially contribute equally in

all

their per-

THE TIDE Mbaya

IS

TURNING

surrendered quickly before

I

407

had a chance

of meeting

News reached us that he was cooperating with Kenya Ng’ombe at Naivasha. Some itungati who knew him confirmed him.

from airplanes appealing to our fighters to surrender. His story made me think that he might have been sent by the Government to convert our itungati so that they would abandon their leaders. Nevertheless, his teachings had caught our itungatis hearts, though only those who had heard of it. They started claiming that the best leader was one who led his itungati to get food, the one who didn’t want any privileges and the one who felt that he was not a master but a sociable and equal person to any gitungati. In fact, the whole idea was to cast down the leaders. If the leaders were not to accept the idea, they would then have to strongly and that he sky-shouted

cleverly challenge

it

in

order to avoid being abandoned by the

itungati. I

tried to

prove to Lord Gicambira and

mbuci which had increased in there was no equality of persons on rera

earth and he could

company

(a

komer-

to be

recognized) that

this earth

in either height,

size

weight or wisdom, but they claimed that this

his

make changes

man was

the master of

to suit his desires.

They

we had a rule assuming that all people eat the same amount of food, for we measured our ration equally to all persons, forgetting that there were persons who liked to eat more than the ration we served. I remembered that people who were not well claimed that

equipped with reasons hated and opposed any argument, they

would either conduct their affairs secretly or use force if possible and do their best to get rid of their opposers as their hindrance. I referred to the ration rule Lord had mentioned and admitted that though we’d all accepted it, it was not fair; but like many others it must have been based on the average or the majority. I warned them that right and equality were measured by might and majority will, which often hid justice and truth. I concluded that even if we adjusted our rules, they would still be imperfect. There was nothing in the world which would satisfy or please everyone. I learned from King’ora Mutungi that one of Ndungu’s sections under Nyahoro had been bombed by Nyagikonyo (Lincolns) and that six itungati were completely buried and that later they were unearthed by others; but the most interesting news was that none of them died, though they received small injuries. Another similar

.

mau mau from within

408

had happened in Chania Valley in Ndiritu Thuita’s mbuci, where a Lincoln bomber unloaded inside the camp at night while dropping bombs aimlessly. The result was that only two persons were killed without any other casualties. The fact that those powerful bombs did very little damage to our fighters cannot be interpreted that probably the bombs were inefficient, but that good luck was with us and according to our prayers and beliefs, God really defended us from bombing and in fact crashed the bombers and other planes from which we collected pipes and cranes for case

trapping animals.

On

iith

November was two

I

experienced a horrible Lincoln bombers

and a group of us were lying idly warming ourselves in Jeriko’s mbuci situated on a gorge at the juncture of Thara and Muringato tributaries about two miles from the reserve. I saw a Lincoln bomber coming from the reserve about two miles away. Its flying line cut right across us. I saw the practice. It

in the afternoon

airplane dropping the

bomb from The bombs

first

second and then the third.

its

big gikonyo, then the

didn’t fall to the

instantly, they floated in the air current

ground

behind the airplane

for

some time while the plane drew nearer and nearer. If any of us tried to move it meant to expose ourselves to the pilot and certainly to

our ends. I

ordered everyone to

down and pray

lie

until the airplane

had passed. Looking at the bombs, I became convinced that we were only under God’s mercy, for the bombs were to fall on us. I pressed my chin to the ground and prayed, ‘God, save my life so that I will witness to the world

your powers had not finished

fires; I

how God

saved our fighters from the devil’s

.

blowing the

my

prayers

air speedily as

it

when

heard the 1,000 lb. bomb was dropping to the ground. The I

whistling increased to a big

panied by thunderous noise

The

wind and then into a storm accomand earthquake almost simultaneously.

and storm followed the airplane west of us, while lumps of soil, dust, twigs and leaves fell amidst us. Raising my head, I saw some itungati running for better positions. Among them were seven Kenya Levellation Army fighters who shouted goodbye to us swearing never again to enter the forest and wishing to die in the noise

reserve while exchanging gunfire with the endure the unassailable Lincoln bombers. I

stood up

still

enemy

rather than to

trembling of fear, wanting to see where the

.

THE TIDE bombs had

.

!

TURNING

IS

409

Looking around I could see only debris and lumps of soil and broken branches and dust-mist covering over us. I enquired whether there was anyone injured. Jeriko replied, ‘everyone ‘Lie

is

fallen.

certain of himself only

down

!’

!’

shouted one gitungati.

‘The airplane

coming

is

again.’ I

quickly ran into small bushes far from any big tree and lay

down on my stomach. The

airplane noise drew nearer.

I

turned

my

head and saw four bombs floating like big eagles under the airplane and a little behind. I pressed my chin to the ground, closed

my

and ears and prayed God to forgive all my sins ‘God, let thy mighty arms by my armor. You are our General; deliver us from evil and from our enemies slavery (Poooof Poooof Poooof !) God, thy will be done on earth as in heaven eyes

:

!

!

.

Once again my

came

into

my mouth

than one half mile north.

The

airplane

and I could pray no more. When I opened my eyes and ears I saw a mist of dust high up in the air which proved to me that the bombs had been dropped on the southern ridge of Muringato stream. In about three minutes time, the airplane was ready again at its offensive position this time dropping bombs on the Thara stream less

heart

bombs each weighing together, soil

we found

1,000

lbs.

that a few

When had

left

after unloading 24

Jeriko called

bruises caused

but none was serious. In addition to that,

absent, including the seven

Kenya

Levellation

all

the fighters

by the lumps of 13 itungati were

Army

fighters

who

had wished us goodbye. We concluded that they must have run away from the area and would return in the evening. Some itungati were still trembling when I started singing ‘Listen and hear this story, of Nyandarua Hill; so you may realize that God is with us, and will never abandon our cause. When we finished singing many of us had gained courage and confidence, but we realized that two fighters who were still trembling were suffering shock and couldn’t use their voice. We tried to soothe them but all in vain. They later recovered at dinner :

.

time about midnight.

We

went round to see where bombs were dropped. The first bombs had been dropped down in the valley near the juncture of the streams about 150 yards east in the grassland, and the second

bomb

100 yards west amidst Thaithi trees, the next was about

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

410

200 yards further west, and so on. The second and third bombing were about half a mile from us.

trips of

At night the airplane started bombing the same area at 8 1309 130 p.m., during which time we stayed without fire and were terrorized every now and then by the great flashing lights of exploding bombs followed by the thunderous noise and tremor. The following morning I left for Gathee’s mbuci with the intention of leaving Ruthaithi for Mihuro. On my arrival at Gathee’s I told him the bombing story. He said that the airplane was turning over their heads after dropping bombs. I asked Gathee to arrange and pack my safari food so that I could leave the following morning. I had written Gathee [earlier] telling him to order his itungati to dry meat for me and my three itungati sufficient to keep us for at least two weeks during which I would stay at Mihuro lonely in the office. I asked him now to give me two more itungati for the safari. He agreed and reminded me that Nyaga’s itungati were supposed to be in Mihuro for repairing huts and building a memorial hall. I wished Gathee’s itungati farewell and in the evening slept early, for I had not slept the night before because of airplane disturbances. I

left

Gathee’s mbuci on

14th

November with

five

itungati

equipped with dry meat to keep us for two weeks. I spent a night on the way, arriving Mihuro the following day in the afternoon. We cleaned two of the old huts, took our ration into the store,

and

The

collected firewood.

carried

days

I

since

it

all

the books

was busy

I

next day

wanted

to

went to the bookstore and the camp. For the next seven I

record books, entering data, history and reports and preparing a general report of the Kenya Parliament’s works

was

in

elected.

On

22nd November Kimathi and a group of Gikuyu Iregi Army arrived [at Mihuro] from Fort Hall with twenty-six leaders and 304 itungati. Kimathi introduced me to them and pointed out the twelve who had been elected by their fighters to become members of the

Kenya

Parliament. Kimathi told

me

of the

power

conflict

between Macaria Kimemia and Mbaria Kaniu over the leadership of the Gikuyu Iregi Army. Macaria told me that their quarrel was so great

general

that they almost election

leader of the

settled

Gikuyu

opened

against each other but a

Macaria Kimemia was the head Army. But Mbaria Kaniu, who was

that

Iregi

fire

THE TIDE

IS

TURNING

4II

very popular to North Kinangop inhabitants originally from Fort Hall, moved back to his area and went on claiming to be the leader

Murang’a as well as the leader of Mburu Ngebo Army. I learned from Kimathi that Gikuyu Iregi Army fighters had ruled that Macaria Kimemia was their leader and Mbaria Kaniu was the leader of the Mburu Ngebo Army, the section that belonged to Murang’a people. I told Kimathi of Kahiu-Itina and Kimbo’s ideas and after balancing it, we found that it had originated from power envy and of

could result in personal enmity or split the Rift Valley from the Central Province and possibly cause our itungati to urge for personal rewards, as some of these leaders had started deceiving their

by falsely allocating the settlers’ farms to some itungati so as to win them. But since envy was not evil and nothing dangerous had happened yet, we left the matter out [of the agenda] but became aware of it. On 23rd November, I spent most of the time collecting and itungati

recording a general report from Murang’a, Masai, remote areas of Rift Valley (II Doigan Hill in North Nanyuki, Naivasha, Dundori

and Elburgon), and within Nyandarua. all this

before

I

took

it

to the

I

had

to explain

Kimathi

General Meeting.

learned from Kiarii Mubengi, the head of the Kenya Inoro Army, that their armies were still rising up in numbers and strength and were in a very good supply of arms from Nairobi, I

The

especially Waruingi’s companies.

Joseph Kibe Kimani were persed by the

enemy

at

still

active but they were badly dis-

Longonot

foot soldiers surrounded the

hill.

Rift Valley sections under

by an air raid while the Some of them had entered NyanHill

darua and others were still in the settled area. Gen. Kibati reported the sad news on the Gikuyu and Mumbi Trinity Army (Masai fighters mostly), saying that their chief leader, Ole Kisio, was killed at the end of August. His successor Ole Ngapien, was captured three weeks later. The dispersed and disheartened fighters were under Ole Ngare. This seemed to be a very great blow on our side.

Wanjeru had returned from Elburgon via Dondori. His mission had failed to enter the Nandi reserves. He said that there were fighters in nearly all the small forests in the settled area but they

were not getting support from the to the repatriation of

Kikuyu and

settlers’

employees

—mostly due

their jobs being taken

by the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

412

who

tribes

did not

know our aims and who were

regularly fed by

Government propaganda which really meant to ostracise the Kikuyu under the allegations that they had taken an oath urging them to kill, rob and rule other tribes. Wanjeru claimed that when an informer was killed the Government’s propagandists took the incident to witness the vows taken and used it to build mountains of tribalism and hatred. Ndiritu Kimani from II Doigan Hill said that he had two sections there and that a third section had arrived under Kahiu-Itina. He said that Dorobo, Samburu and a few Turkana in the area were very sympathetic to the Movement and a few had taken the the

traditional oath.

News from

was not pleasing, for Government had greatly increased its forces and arms, forced all people in the Central Province into villages which were strongly supervised as prison camps. We had been cut off from Nairobi supplies and communication and worse still from our supporters in the reserves. For the last two months I had noted and notified our Nairobi base that the [little] ammunition we had could only be used for defending or fighting for food. We couldn’t make any more offensive attacks. Over 30,000 Kikuyu, Embu and Meru had become loyal Home Guards to the Government, most of whom were previously the reserves

our strong supporters. After their surrender they accused other supporters whom they beat and tortured badly until they confessed and became converted in their faith. In addition, our itungati who

had

either surrendered or

were captured had given the enemy

information about the forest fighters and, worst of all [some] had joined the enemy’s pseudo-platoons and had become sufficient

their guides to our mbuci. In fact the

wind had changed,

this

time

against us.

By

the evening

I

learned the attendance situation

— 1,500

fighters

from Ituma Ndemi Army, followed by Gikuyu Iregi Army, Mburu Ngebo Army (sections under Mbaria Kaniu, Makanyanga and Thiong’o’s section, which reported his death), and Kenyo Inoro Army. Kibati and his assistant plus six fighters were the only ones who were in touch with Masai fighters at Melili Forest, but they had failed to bring Masai leaders as Ole Ngare had not been able to hold meetings with his fighters due to enemy

had

arrived, mostly

harassment.

One

of the most interesting things of the meeting

was that Stan-

:

THE TIDE Mathenge had

ley

their leaders

The

TURNING

IS

413

arrived together with four other sections and

who had

attended the meeting under his influence.

other interesting person was Mbaria Kaniu. Both were strong

Ituma Ndemi Army and Gikuyu Iregi Army. Up to this stage, Mathenge, who had many possibilities of competing with Kimathi, had not really motivated any campaign for competing with Kimathi. One thing certain was that Mathenge was not satisfied to be under Kimathi; again, he had no intentions at all of getting other fighters under his rule apart from his own Division, which he had assumed responsibility for and which he didn’t like Kimathi to interfere with, so that he could maintain his security. In fact he had no objections to Kimathi’s rising to power provided that he maintained his position which I thought was fit for him, for he had no ability of rising above division level, which was even

enough

to split

—

difficult to his

brain power.

was

Kimbo, Kahiu-Itina and Mbaria Kaniu had started to motivate Mathenge to rise against Kimathi and took him as their leader. Taking into account the criticisms given to me by both Kahiu-Itina and Kimbo, and reasons In addition to

for seeking a

this,

it

clear that

new party under

illiterates,

could clearly see that

I

was what one stood for Kimathi who stood for Kenya’s revolution was on top of those leaders hats, while they, far below, stood for tribal tradition and customary laws as they were before European civilization as the goal after victory. the

main

division

Now, turning was

:

to the

Kenya Parliament members attendance,

as follows

PRESENT 1.

2.

absent (under boycott,

Dedan Kimathi Chief Sec., Karari Njama President,

5.

Thuita Vice Treasurer, Abdullah Major Gen. Vindo

6.

Gen. Muraya Mbuthia

3.

4.

it

Dep.

Sec., Ndiritu

1.

Vice

2.

Treasurer,

3.

Ngunjiri

4.

Wambugu Mwema

5.

Gen.

Rui

any

meeting

1-4)

Kahiu-Itina

Pres.,

Kimbo

(never

attended

of

Kenya

Parliament)

The

six

6.

Gathitu (dead)

7.

Omera

Kenya Parliament members met

after dinner to discuss

the report to be issued out the following day.

noted was that the

(captured)

The

first

Kenya Parliament attendance had

thing to be fallen

below

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

414

which showed some weakness. One possible way of strengthening it was to increase its members. Learning from Kimathi that Gikuyu Iregi Army had elected their twelve representatives in the Kenya Parliament, including Muraya Mbuthia an old member of K.P., and the fact that they were all in the same camp, made us conclude that they were to participate as members of the Kenya Parliament the following day. Among them were Macaria half,

Kimemia

their head,

Mwangi Gicimu

Waweru and Mutuota. The Kenya Inoro Army had them

in the

K.P.

We

their chief secretary,

four elected

members

Kimani

to represent

accepted them and agreed that they should

more who should join us December at Mihuro.

at the

elect five

Annual General Meeting

on 31st General Kibati, speaking as the Masai representative, said that any journey to Narok or Melili Forest was very difficult and dangerous. Our fighters, [he said] had to walk over large grassland areas at night and sleep during the day. Sometimes they had to hide themselves in small grass which could not at all cover them from either footmen or air patrols. He suggested that they needed rules and regulations, plans and general organization, to enable them

manage their own affairs without attending ment meeting. His suggestion was accepted.

to

Now

the

Kenya

Parlia-

had done their elections, only Ituma Ndemi Army was left to elect its members. If we held the election in the absence of Kahiu-Itina and Kimbo they would get grounds to justify their split, claiming that they had been ousted by the K.P. Looking at the attendance, we thought that Mathenge might lose the election as he had not many of the fighters who were aware of his negligence of duty. So we decided to introduce Mathenge to our fighters as the elected head of Ituma and ask him, as chairman since the other armies

;

of Ituma, to call a general

meeting for Ituma which would elect its new leaders. It seemed impossible to hold another general meeting before the Annual General Meeting for all the fighters, so we concluded that we would make it clear to Mathenge after discussing the matter with him.

We

decided that

we had

better nominate seven additional leaders to strengthen the five old K.P. members of the Ituma Ndemi Army until such a time as we were able to hold a general election

company.

We

members

of the

and study the motives of Kahiu-Itina and then nominated the following persons to become

Kenya Parliament

:

THE TIDE 1.

2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

IS

TURNING

415

Gen. Gathura Muita; IDA 1 /2 and Kimathi’s personal clerk Gen. Makanyanga; Mburu Ngebo Army

Gen. Kihara Gatandi; IDA 2/2 Gen. Wacira Gathuku; IDA 3/2 Gen. Gitonga Gaciingu; IDA 3/3 Gen. Gikonyo Kanyungu; Gen. Kahinga Wachanga;

IDA IDA

4/1 (absent from meeting) 4/3 (absent from meeting)

Qualifications for the above nominees were cleverness, national

opposed to tribal, leadership ability and regional representation in Nyandarua. We had learned that success in a general election depended on either popularity or deceitful propaganda feelings as

and not on merit.

The

question of the settled area in the Rift Valley being repre-

sented by leaders

who

was their land was the one which could bring about a split between all other fighters and the Rift Valley fighters. Rift Valley was the land we all were fighting for and it was then ridiculous for some fighters to claim it to be theirs for the reason that they were born there or had lived there for a long time. That would definitely create mistrust among the fighters and mostly destroy the fighters’ spirit, losing confidence in the land he was fighting for. We resolved that we had to make it clear to

all

claimed that

it

our fighters that Rift Valley did not belong to the

employees or squatters as they were being deceived by some leaders who claimed that they were sharing land to their

settlers’

Kenya Africans and could only be shared at the consent of the Kenya African Government. Before closing the meeting we resolved that the New Kenya Parliament, 28 members present, would meet the following morning before the General Meeting began. We sent out Gen. Muraya Mbuthia and called on Mathenge so that we could discuss his differences with Kimathi, a matter only for the Ituma Ndemi Army. It was already a few minutes after midnight when he itungati, but in fact that

arrived.

it

belongs to

all

Phis took place in an informal talk in

which both denied

when we

interrogated them.

hatred or dislike against each other

Mathenge,

in

an

effort to

prove his good

will,

repeated the story

had completely cleared his suspicions and doubts about the incident by telling him what had happened and convincing him that Kimathi was always sincere to him and had demanded his cooperation. Mathenge concluded that of the bullet in the fire saying that

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

416

he had nothing more other than suspicion of the bullet in the fire. Kimathi then suggested that they should both take an oath binding them as brothers, vowing never to kill or cause [injury] in any form to each other and never to undermine each other or degrade each other to their itungati. Though they did not take the oath they promised before us to work together. Kimathi ended by cursing himself and calling God to witness that he will never hurt Mathenge, who said the same.

We

then told Mathenge our plan of introducing him to

all

the

and giving him chances of speaking and calling a general meeting so that ail our Ituma itungati will know him before a general election of its leaders. Mathenge was very pleased and itungati

promised to year.

The

call

a general meeting early at the beginning of the

date was to be fixed at the Annual General Meeting.

It

was already three o’clock in the morning and we went to sleep. The morning of the 24th November all the new members of Kenya Parliament, 28 of them, met in a big memorial hall 120 feet by 20 feet with three rows of seats and a platform for the Kenya Parliament members. Guards had been properly posted in all directions at least three miles in radius.

opened the meeting with prayers which were dedicated by Kimathi. The first thing was to get to know each other and Kimathi did all the introduction work. Second was to tell the new members the duties and policies of the Kenya Parliament, the work done by the K.P. since it was elected, general report on our armies. Gourage and unity to our fighters and supporters was to be adopted as our greatest weapon, being now unable to attack the enemy due to lack of ammunition. I

Our inability to make gunpowder became our greatest weakness and we resolved to ask our fighters what gunpowder was made of. We then arranged the order of our speeches who was to speak, :

and time allowed. Kimathi was to control the meeting, introduce and keep time for every speaker. Gathura Muita was to call out the next speaker from the prepared list and tell the audience what they were to hear from the speaker. The President and Chief Secretary were allowed to speak without any fixed time until they covered the required ground. I was to record everyone's speech as it directly came from his mouth. The other 16 speakers were allowed ten minutes only, including Mathenge and Mbaria though they were not members of the Parliament. The his subject

—

— THE TIDE

TURNING

IS

meeting ended at lunch time and

we walked

4*7

out for lunch

—a cup

of boiled maize.

two in the afternoon with an opening ceremony of the Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall. Wang ombe Ruga, the only reasonable mundo mugo we had, was standing

The General meeting was

with Kimathi at the

hall’s

to start at

entrance, each holding a gitete of diluted

honey and a flywhisk. Wang’ombe had another gitete of uncooked githambio, a fermented mixture of millet flour and water gruel which he poured on the entrance and on either side of the hall as he said his prayers asking God to bless the site, the hall and the army. After a short prayer in the memory of all our miserable life the since the coming of the Europeans, Kimathi poured honey on

honey and cut the string across the the entrance and declared Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall open in memory of the miserable life of our Mt. Kenya and Nyandarua Kapenfighters, the O'lenguruoni eviction and all the evictions, the guria Trial and all other trials in which thousands of people were

same

places, sprinkled the hall with

sentenced to death, deportation, imprisonments ranging from one year to life or indefinite detention, Lokitaung Prison where our leader

Jomo Kenyatta and

sentences to represent

all

his five colleagues,

were serving their

and detention camps and

prisons

all

oui

sufferings in general.

He

then entered the

hall,

pouring honey

all

the

way

to the plat-

form and followed by Wang’ombe who was pouring githambio. Then they came out and started cleansing 1,400 fighters by sprinkling them with honey from his flywhisk while Kimathi was blessing them by sprinkling honey on them as they entered the hall, d he

Kenya Parliament members were

the

first,

—and

to enter

Kimathi

—

honey on our heads followed by the other leaders and lastly by the itungati, who were sprinkled from the flywhisk. The hall could hold only 700 fighters and the rest had to stand against the walls both inside and outside. Kimathi opened the meeting with two minutes of silence for the dead and short prayers. He then introduced all the K.P. members and prominent leaders. He mentioned the names of absent members without apology for them and informed the audience that we had

poured a

little

nominated seven other leaders they could lead until the end of the year.

we

whom we

thought were

fit

so that

held a general election, possibly before

He mentioned

the

Kenya

Parliament's works

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

418

and asked the Chief Secretary K.P. work since it was elected.

When

I

stood up,

was formed and the

I

how we

first

to read the general report of the

told the audience

qualifications for election

—missions

Parliament’s

the K.P.

and then explained

dealt with China’s surrender negotiations, then cor-

respondences inland and abroad letters sent

how and when

and tours

sessions,

discussing

—reading

either the reply or the

and out rules and

in

of

Nyandarua, Kenya

regulations,

attacking and defending, discipline, cases heard.

I

plans of

warned them on

pseudo-platoons and informers within the camps, read recordings

and supporters, enemies, supplies, finance, history, songs, activities in camp, battle activities, issuing ranks, Kenya Young Stars Association, Kenyalekalo Memorial Clubs and Halls. Achievements up to this stage were that the Colonial Government had sent a Royal Land Commission in 1953 in an attempt to adjust our land complaints, whose findings were unknown to our fighters and which we believed was kept secret in order to cover Government’s face from shame. Though it was right for the Government to return the lands to the Africans, it would have been interpreted as a great defeat of the settlers and we thought that their request was to be given time to defeat us in the battle and then issue out land to the survivors. Some Government officials had in many cases promised the Loyalists that the Government would return lands to them when they defeated Mau Mau, for the Government didn’t want Mau Mau to prove to have fought for of lost property, lives of fighters

right.

In April 1954, a Commonwealth Delegation arrived in Kenya for the first time in history. We claimed that they had come to settle

our case versus equal status as time,

[a

and wanted to accept our country on their a member of the commonwealth. At about the same

month

settlers

after

the

Colonial Secretary,

Oliver Lyttelton,

Kenya] the Colonial Government had changed a policy. Kenya was no longer a colony in the old sense but a multiracial Government recognizing the African as equal for the first time and promoting him to ministerial post. The Kenya Legislative members had been increased, a Commission for Wages appointed, visited

many

of the

District

KISA

schools reopened

under the missionaries or the

Education Board.

Our two

years fight had

made Kenya Government run bankrupt,

.

THE TIDE causing

its

IS

TURNING

4X9

Finance Minister Mr. E. A. Vassey to borrow almost

£30,000,000 from Her Majesty’s Government, and in the Colonial

Government had

spite of that

failed to defeat us. In fact

it

had

shown its weakness by asking us to surrender. I had also learned from East African Standard that the European migration from Kenya was so great that the Government had to do all it could to stop them from running away and to enable it to do so, the Government had to regulate the service leave from Kenya. That made us proud of having succeeded in chasing away many Kenya settlers and increased our hopes that by the time we achieved independence all the Kenya settlers would have left the country. I warned the audience that the Government had succeeded in cutting us completely from our supporters anywhere outside the forest by putting all the people in village prison-like camps. There was a decrease of both arms and fighters from our side and a great but [during] the two years of our increase to the Government side fight, the Government had failed to defeat us [though] doing their

—

best

daily,

using

100,000 soldiers, including

Home

Guards,

all

—

equipped to their best, lorries, Land Rovers, planes Police Air Wing, Harvards, jets, Lincoln bombers, of which our Almighty God had crashed about eight of them. I stressed that our defeat would be lack of supplies and food. 1 he enemy’s patrols and operations here in the forest had done very little compared with the fight for food. It seemed that the Govern-

ment was now aiming at preventing us from getting food so that we would die of hunger or fall into their food traps. But since there were plenty of animals in this forest which we could trap for food or clothing,

we could

then

live in the forest for

many

years.

preventing us from killing the animals, many fighters were already living on animals. I suggested ‘No one should kill an that the rule should be amended that animal which he was not going to eat, unless it be for defending

Though we had not

lifted the rule

.

reason and only (

when

.

attacked.’

Ucio uri ho!' shouted the

fighters

in

cheers saying that was

right.

enquired which animals couldn’t be eaten and received different replies mentioning the ones unfit to be eaten, but the replies I

from Kipipiri fighters were peculiar and laughable replied ‘I would eat whatever would be caught by my trap,’ one fighter. ‘When I lay my trap I do not choose which animal :

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

420 is

to be caught. All

thinks

fit

for

do

I

me and

is

pray

God

to give

me

meat, whatever he

’

I

‘Would you eat a monkey or leopard?’ asked another gitungati. ‘Yes, in fact some of us have eaten them!’ replied the gitungati. Laughter increased and the whole hall was filled with noise, one talking to the other. Kimathi rose to quieten the people, commenting that he would also eat whatever he found in his trap. ‘Yes, that’s right

!’

shouted the audience.

Would you eat a hyena?’ asked Nyaga. Kimathi sat down without answering the question. ‘No

!

quieten the meeting. ‘Every creature you know,’

I

I

managed

said,

‘is

to

eaten

some examples ‘the Akamba eat birds, even the smallest ones, the Giriama eats the tortoise, the French eat the frog and snake-like fish, the Turkana eats donkey, dog, ostrich, etc., the Kitosi eat locusts and the flying ants of which the Gikuyu people do not eat. The Luo and Baluhya eat porcupine, etc. God created and blessed all the creatures to be man’s food. He only chooses which to eat because of their abundance and appearance and in a few cases by taste. ‘Apart from the animals we have plenty of honey, vegetables and fruit in this forest which can keep us alive for years. You should then try to obtain food anywhere you wish and by any means and by some other

people,’ giving

:

—

make sure that the enemy wouldn’t defeat us on the food issue. The last and worst of our defeats would be disunity among ourselves

—komerera

leaders

seeking

power,

disobedience

to

our

discouragement, lack of confidence to our victory, and being unable to persevere to the last man and minute. We have bravely fought the battle and we have scored more goals than our leaders,

opponents and

if

the referee blows the whistle

we would

definitely

winning

we

win the

battle.

We

now

have

all

to stop fighting,

the chances of

persevere. Don’t be worried about the Home Guards or surrenderees. The Kenya settlers are in a worse situation than ourselves in unity. Up to June 1953? the Aberdare Electoral Union if

was the only settlers political union and it wished to rule Kenya forever under the leadership of Michael Blundell. Its final petition to Her Majesty s Government during Her coronation ceremony, demanding independence for the white man in Kenya, was comand Blundell was warned that the settlers had only one chance and that was to form a multiracial Government,

pletely rejected

.

THE TIDE

TURNING

IS

421

which they are experimenting with at present. If it failed, Her Majesty’s Government promised to grant the Africans independence

was African Government.

and

[said] that

it

for the

Kenya

settlers to

fit

themselves in the

‘When Blundell returned here, he told his party that Her Majesty’s Government had thrust an arrow right in the heart of their party’s aim. He warned that they were pushing their heads against a brick wall. That there would never be a white man’s independence in this country. That multiracialism was the only chance were given and, provided that they were the strongest, wealthiest capitalists and the cleverest, they would lead and control that multiracial Government. And that now their main problem would be how to gain cooperation from the majority of Africans they

in

the multiracial Government.

‘On hearing this, the Aberdare Electoral Union split into the Federal Independence Party under Humphrey Slade, demanding Kenya be granted autonomous provinces, the United Party under Blundell, the Upcountry Party and another party under Mr. Baxter and Major Day claiming that the European supremacy in country must prevail. With these different parties voicing their for policies at liberty, the Europeans are weaker than ourselves,

this

the

and

Home Guards and

surrenderees were created by security reasons

were no such force then there would be no more Guards or surrenderees or disunity or different aims as it has

force. If there

Home

happened with the settlers. ‘Time is almost ripe. Freedom referee will soon blow his whistle will

be an “about turn!”

The

around the corner. The

just

is

for the will

first

change over. The

become become

the

last.

result

The

last

the masters. 1 he become the first. The servants will ruled will become the rulers. The miserable will become the happiest. This would be the reward for perseverance. Are you ready will

to persevere to the last ‘Ei.

Yes

‘Then

!’

minute?’

roared the audience.

shall

we

all

‘We

sing together?’.

.

are ready .

The children of Gikuyu live Under the pouring rains With much hunger and cold In quest of their land

!’

in the forest

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

422

(chorus)

Woeee

!

Woeee

!

Woe-eyae

!

Will you persevere death

Continuous pains and troubles and Often imprisonment for the love of your land

Who And

?

are those singing aloud

beyond the sea Praising Jomo and Mbiyu As seekers of right and justice living

Some Gikuyu separated themselves And betrayed the others because They thought we could never win Our House of Mumbi, we have won

Our

!

sang happily and bravely. It was getting late for them to collect firewood before nightfall. Sitting down, I promised fighters

them more speech, asked them

to

at

tell

night.

Kimathi, commenting on

my

long

up and adjourned the meeting so that we could get a chance of collecting firewood and cooking. He told the audience that there were sixteen other leaders who would speak to them at night after dinner and ordered that every one should to cheer

be in the hall before io p.m.

As the itungati left the hall, I sat down on the platform next to Kimathi and lit my kiraiko to smoke. Many leaders came to shake my hand and congratulate me for my long speech. They said that I had covered a large ground and given encouragement to the fighters. When the fires were lit, we dispersed to our huts to warm ourselves while awaiting dinner.

At 9 130 p.m., singing sounded everyone to attend.

The

like

warriors

ringing church bells calling

who had

finished eating

were

already awaiting leaders in the hall and were entertaining themselves

by

singing.

At

five

minutes to ten the Kenya Parliament

leaders entered the hall,

which was lit by burning fires inside and outside which also supplied warmth. Gathura Muita asked me to do the calling of the speakers as he didn t know them well enough to introduce them properly. He said he would record their speeches. The leaders spoke on courage, unity,

obedience,

perseverance,

surrender, trapping,

camp

life,

fighting

tactics,

komererci jealousy,

Home

Guards,

settlers’ history,

THE TIDE wealth (ivory, precious stones,

IS etc.),

TURNING

423

Kenya’s African Government,

leaderships, etc.

Mathenge, who spoke on many points, drew audience attention on unity, obedience, courage and perseverance. He warned the meeting not to be misled by any propaganda that he and Kimathi hated each other a

member

and

;

neither should they be worried for

He warned propaganda. He said

of the K.P.

fallacious

him not being

the warriors against suspicion that suspicion was the source

and confessed to have wrongly suspected Kimathi of the Murang’a bullet incident. He confirmed that he would support Kenya Parliament and any person who did any good work for Kenya. He said that if the devil was to save Kenya, he would then

of evil

claimed that the leader who will lead the fighters victoriously out of the forest would automatically become the support him.

He

leader of the revolution.

and

false pride.

river crossing

He

He warned easily be

and pride before we managed

He

we were

said that

and we could

all

middle of a big

in the

drowned with our jealousy

to cross.

who were engaged

told a story of a people

Their army was living

as ours.

the leaders against jealousy

in

in the forest just as

a similar fight

we

were.

\

heir

opponent knew neither their number nor their strength. As the years passed by, the enemy’s bombs and foot soldiers killed the forest fighters and only one of them survived. This brave warrior refused to surrender and fought as if he was the whole army. He took from the deceased warriors different kinds of weapons.

He

ambushing the enemy using his different weapons as though there were many warriors. At night he did a lot of distruction by using fire and poison to the animals. He changed his position daily, moving from one side of the forest to the other. The enemy believed the forest was still full of fighters, and then [finally] surrendered. When his people were released from prisons and detention camps and formed the first Government, they then called their fighters who were living in the forest to march from the forest to the national flag where they would receive their honor

kept on

for braverv

and perseverance and

their willingness to free their

people and their country at the cost of their

lives.

Though

the

people were very happy for their achievement, they were very

much

surprised to see only one warrior carrying

kinds of weapons, which he defeated the

and beating

his big

drum

in

enemy

many

different

with, marching

the big street towards the city center.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

424 At

in the foiest,

still

army was were no more

the people wondered, thinking that the whole

first

but then he told them that there

and that he was the only man who defeated the enemy; he had fought for more than a year all alone in the forest. Amidst cheers and cries for the dead, the brave courageous and persevering fighter received the greatest honor that was to be fighters in the forest

granted to

all

the country’s fighters.

Keep up!’ concluded Mathenge. ‘He who

‘Hold on!

what he had fought

loses

for.

He who

surrenders

perseveres wins.

You can

enemy surrenders. Njama has said. The

decide to surrender now, and [soon] after your It

last

a matter of perseverance, as

all just

is

man

will

become the

Mr

!’

first

Whenever a speaker sat down, we sang one of our songs to awaken people and keep them alert. Usually we chose a song that corresponded with the speakers news.

A

song of praise, a song of

courage, a song of recording events, a song of degrading the

and

Home

ment,

At

Guards, a propaganda song for spreading the

enemy Move-

etc.

five

memory

minutes to midnight

of the dead, injured

we commenced our

prayers in the

and captured comrades,

their torture,

and our miserable life. We prayed God to defend us and fight for us. We prayed for unity, courage and perseverance, and asked God to grant us power to defeat envy, jealousy, hatred, diseases and climate. We prayed for leaders so that they could rightly lead us. Two leaders, two fighters, two women spoke our prayers, which were concluded by Kimathi. We continued our program until we realized, about 3 a.m., that most of our itungati had fallen asleep. Kimathi dismissed the meeting, saying that there would be no general meeting during the day, but that the leaders would meet. Another general meeting would be held the following night.

The

next morning, being certain that sentries had been posted, I slept up to 9. At 10 a.m. the members of the K.P. met to discuss what matters were likely to be raised at the next Annual General

Meeting. Apart from

meeting was the best

New

we agreed that such a way through which we could encourage, Year’s prayers,

and educate our fighters, through lectures and challenges from distant leaders on the bad points and habits. We then invited other leaders in and asked them what each would like unite,

discipline

to

our fighters that night.

tell

We made

up the program of

their

THE TIDE speeches similar to the one lunch, after which

I

the minute book, keeping

After dinner

Nearly

all

we had

recorded

me

TURNING

IS

all

busy

the night before.

425

We

broke for

the previous night’s speeches in

evening.

till

entered the hall and continued our program.

we

the leaders praised the K.P.,

its

leaders

and the

effort

they were putting in propagating the Movement to other tribes and making our troubles known abroad, finally, I called for any fighter

who wanted

Hundreds wanted

to speak for or against

to

comment and

allowed only 3 to speak.

I

what we had preached.

praise the leaders, of

gave allowance for anyone

whom

I

who wanted

what we had preached to speak, but none volunteered. The meeting ended at half-past 1 in the morning. We wished everyone farewell and hoped to meet next time whenever our leaders fixed the date and place. We did not want our fighters to know when the next general meeting would be held. We then went to bed. to criticise

CHAPTER XIX

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIM ATHI During

were made to strengthen the forest organization and heal the rift between leaders which threatened a split. External pressures and events, however, playing upon the internal tendencies toward fission, made this an extremely difficult, if not hopeless, task. The General Annual Meeting of the Kenya Parliament, which was to commence on 31 December 1954, coincided with the opening of Government’s greatest assault on the forest guerrillas since the early

months

of 1955, several attempts

the revolution began. ‘Operation

Hammer’,

as

it

was

called,

weeks and threw over a division of infantry into the Aberdares. They began by clearing the moorlands, then moved in staggered, coordinated patrols toward the eastern fringe of the forest where a line of heavily manned ambushes had been set up. Considering the massive nature of the operation, guerrilla casualties were relatively light, numbering, according to lasted almost three

Government sources, 16 1 dead, captured or surrendered. Nevertheless, Government did succeed in badly dispersing the forest forces, hampering their movement and destroying Mihuro camp, thus forcing the

Kenya Parliament

to twice postpone

its

general

meeting and the important Ituma District Committee elections. Operation Hammer, a military failure from Government’s point of view,

was followed on 18 January 1955 by a new cam-

paign designed to bring about the surrender of forest guerrillas by offering a general amnesty for crimes committed during the emergency. While very few fighters surrendered during this

from Karari’s account that the dire conditions prevailing in the reserve, the Government amnesty offer and their own plight in the forest, resulted in widespread demoralization amongst Aberdare fighters. The Kikuyu peasantry, it seems, had for the most part lost both the means and the will to resist. The villagization and communal labor schemes combined with bad harvests to produce widespread hunger and a mounting toll of deaths from starvation among children and the aged Cut off period,

it is

clear

426

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

427

from the fighters in the forest and seeing no chance of winning, a growing number of Kikuyu peasants, therefore, yearned only for an end to the struggle. The Chieni meeting in early March was designed, at least in part, to bolster the sagging morale of the forest itungati by consolidating the rapproachement between Stanley Mathenge and Dedan Kimathi. The latter would be promoted to the new post of Prime Minister while Mathenge and Macaria Kimemia (Commander of the Gikuyu Iregi Army) would contest for the vacated post of Field Marshal in a Kenya Parliament election. In this way, the military hierarchy would be separated from the political hierarchy of councils and, it was hoped, the areas of conflict between Mathenge and Kimathi reduced. Kimathi, as head of the Kenya Parliament, would be responsible for the proper functioning of the Parliament and district committees. Mathenge, or perhaps Kimemia, would take over all of Kimathi’s duties regarding the management of military affairs and forces. Both men would thus be satisfied and the dissident leaders could, in all likelihood, be persuaded to return. As we shall see, an unexpected turn of events was to dispel these hopes and plans. The formal ceremony described by Karari, in which Dedan Kimathi was made a senior elder of the highest rank and elevated to the post of Prime Minister,

manner

is

a significant

illustration

which both traditional practices and statuses and British ranks, titles and offices were utilized in an effort to sanctify and legitimize the Kenya Parliament and forest organization. While traditional aspects of the ceremony underscored the Parliament’s claim to legitimacy as a Kikuyu institution, and sanctioned the intended separation of political and military offices, of the

in

the British features tended to support the

Kenya Parliament claim

Kenya-wide governing institution, representing the interests of Kenya Africans as opposed to European settlers. Here again, in terms of both organization and ideology, is an illustration of that conjunction of Kikuyu and Kenya ‘nationalisms’ so frequently exhibited by the forest guerrilla forces. to legitimacy as a

When

the

directions.

day broke, our fighters dispersed from Mihuro in many Kihara Gatandi, one of the seven nominated Ituma

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

428 members

and Gicuki Mwii joined the Kiambu fighters on a mission to encourage the fighters around Naivasha and Opuru Forest. I joined Mathenge’s company to Subuk and stayed for the next month in Gicuki Wacira’s section, up to the 28th December, when we left for Mihuro in order to attend the Annual General Meeting. We slept two nights on the way and arrived in the afternoon of 30th December. I was glad to meet many of my friends from whom we had parted a month ago. Reports from various directions were that there were a lot of enemies in the forest who had been seen in many areas. We became suspicious; suspected that the enemy might have known that we were to hold a general meeting. Kimathi forbid singing or making loud noises. About 500 persons had arrived and the poor attendance also made us suspect that many of our fighters might have been dispersed by the enemy. Very early the following morning, Kimathi ordered that the sentries be posted all around the camp, within three miles radius, and that they must keep their positions until sunset. To ensure our safety, 350 itungati were sent on guard, leaving only 150 persons in the camp. The attendance was very disappointing for none of the Kenya Inoro Army had turned up. From the Gikuyu Iregi Army only six members of the Kenya Parliament had arrived. From the Ituma Ndemi Army, Kahinga, Gikonyo and Kihara, who had accomof the K.P.

panied the Kenya Inoro Army, had not arrived. From Mburu Ngebo Army only Makanyanga had arrived. Total attendance fifteen members of Kenya Parliament out of thirty-three expected. We spent the day in fear and worry, knowing that the enemy was within [i.e. around] us and not knowing what had

happened

?

our warriors the

enemy

to

who had

not arrived. Learning from Makanyanga that was sweeping the whole forest, the sooner we dispersed

the better for us. Nevertheless,

we

trusted our guards

and

sat

down

to plan our no more members of the Kenya Parliament turned up, we couldn’t hold an official session with less than half the members, but we could give lectures to our fighters. Mathenge had arrived and had kept his promise. Kahiu-Itina had not returned from II Doigan Hill. Kimbo had not changed his mind; in fact he was reported to have toured some Mburu Ngebo Army sections preach-

program.

If

ing against the

Kenya Parliament.

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI By

some 300 more itungati had arrived with their but no more members of the K.P. showed up. From the

nightfall

leaders,

we

echoes of the enemy’s guns,

and became very much

enemy them

429

of

learned that

we were surrounded

some captives might tell the the meeting they were going to attend and probably lead afraid that

Mihuro. Nevertheless, when our great ally, the darkness, arrived, we became brave enough to sing and shout hard. We covered our program and held prayers for the New Year. to

Mathenge talked to the itungati and promised them that he would call the first general meeting for Ituma Ndemi Army under chairmanship sometime early in February. The leaders would inform their itungati of the date and place later on. All the leaders had to keep the meetings secret, but it was to be at Mihuro on 7th February 1955. The Kenya Parliament session, which had failed,

his

was postponed was postponed

to the

until

same

date.

The Ituma Ndemi Army

Mathenge was

in

election

a position to organize the

who had threatened a split. Very early the New Year's morning we dispersed after our prayers for our journeys and God’s protection. I joined IDA 3/2 and before our arrival at Gura Valley we four times narrowly escaped enemy collision. The camp was situated in the black forest dotted with very few bamboo on the northern Gura slopes just above the old Kigumo gardens. The water sprung up a few yards from the camp and then the stream went underground some thirty election in order to convince the ones

yards below the spring. big

bomb

of a mile

ing

my

Two

Our guards below moving down craters.

hundred yards could see the

enemy

were two

three-quarters

the valley in the old gardens. Cast-

eyes on the opposite steep slope,

made by

to the east

I

could see a wide ‘road’

from a bomb crater almost vertical to me. d he camp benefited from having a good view of the Gura \ alley, which enabled us to see the smoke from enemies’ camps in the mornings and evenings and their airplanes dropping them the sloping

soil

The

other benefit was that there was no known water nearby, which proved to the enemy that the area was unfit for camping. food.

In this quiet camp, not even

known by

other fighters,

I

lived

with Wacira Gathuku, Gitonga Giciingu and Wambugu Mutiga, who had been given the whole camp’s management by Gitonga.

The eighteen itungati of goodwill.

They

camp were brave fighters and men managed to harvest maize from the

in the

cleverly

— 430

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

reserve gardens

which we dried

driest

in

the sun, for January

is

the

month.

On

the 15th January, our itungati returning

from the reserve reported some interesting news that Government forces had withdrawn from the forest. The following afternoon I went fishing down the Gura River. On my way I crossed many enemy tracks which showed me that they had left the forest. At twilight, I

camp with

returned to the

change

nine trouts, which enabled us to have a

our maize meals for the first time in a month. On 1 8th January Wacira, Gitonga, two escorts and I went to visit Gicuki Wacira who lived on the same slope about one mile from the forest fringe. On our way, we heard an airplane skyin

shouting an appeal for us to surrender. As it passed us following the forest border, we saw it dropping thousands of leaflets. I sent

one of the escorts to get

me

a

leaflet. It

read

:

GOVERNMENT PROMISE 4 he Kenya Government has offered

come out

all

!

the fighters a chance to

of the forest

and return to the normal peaceful life. His Excellency the Governor of Kenya Sir Evelyn Baring has given a general amnesty to all persons who have committed crimes during the emergency up to today, the 18th January Save your life now! 955 Surrender with all your fighting weapons and you will not be prosecuted. You will be detained and receive good medical treatment, food, clothing and general *

-

care.

(Signed by) Sir Evelyn Baring His Excellency the Governor of

Kenya

Gen. Sir George Erskine Gommander-in-Chief, East Africa

No

matter whether

‘one thing

I

am

this

certain of

although forgery

is

is

a

is

Government propaganda,’

I

that these are their real signatures

possible,

whether

this

said,

and

comes from the is that this is the Government’s statement It is a fair proof that the Government is defeated and instead of yielding to our demands it appeals to us to surrender.’ If we surrender, we would lose what we have fought for at the last minute o our victory. On the other hand the Government offers us to become its detainees or letter

senior or junior officers, the fact

Gitonga,

We

prisoners.

have declared the

fight to the end.’

Oh

no!’ cried

1

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI ‘Though

it

may

be

43

no one would be taken to the same time it warns us of being

true,’ I said, ‘that

a magistrate for prosecution, at detained indefinitely possibly detention

—

which would mean that we

throughout their rule, could only be released when Kenya

gets independence.’ ‘It is

foolish to place oneself willingly

said Wacira. ‘Forget all about

it

under the enemy’s mercy,’ and persevere and you will find

Government has completely surrendered.’ We continued our journey and soon arrived at Wacira’s mbuci. It was similar to ours and had a good view of the Kigumo main road and the reserve as well. Standing here I could see Munyange Village in which was the strongest military base with over 700 Devons plus a police camp and Home Guard camp. I could count any persons entering the forest in that area within a mile or two that the

in the reserve.

could

my

garden one and a half miles away; my fruit trees and the remains of the unroofed house I was building before the emergency. This mbuci could see the enemy I

still

see

making their ambushes in the evenings and knew had abandoned their ambushes.

well

when they

Gicuki told us that the enemy’s plans of fighting us had greatly

He

Government had dropped all its forces in Nguthiru [the Moorlands] where they started their sweeping operation down the streams, valleys, slopes and on the ridges, so increased.

said that the

distributed that they

a mile apart.

Our

moved

in

almost parallel

trick of encircling

lines less

than half

behind the enemy wouldn’t

have worked this time for they were moving in three groups. The second group was to search the same area for the second day that had been covered by the first group and sleep in the same camp. The third group was to search the same area for the third day and sleep in their already established

camp. They continued their slow and thorough sweep toward the forest boundary where their comrades laid in ambushes all the nights. Since it was dangerous for our fighters to run away toward the forest boundary, they always tried to move across [i.e., laterally] which was impossible to move more than half a mile before colliding with another enemy force. The only way was to move up the mountain but having passed the first group and coming to its camp, our fighters thought it to be safe, while the second group was ready to charge. Their next escape would just put them into the enemy’s third

group’s trap.

Though we

didn’t

know

the exact

damage

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

432

must have been great for fighters could only run away instead of ambushing the enemy as they used to do. This was all due to lack of ammunition. I told them that I had tried to make gunpowder and had found that elephants’ tusks burned the same way as gunpowder, but I had failed how to light it. By examining different forms of gunpowder, I had concluded that it was made of elephants’ tusks, charcoal, phosphorus and some alkali acid. I could see a lot of phosphorus staying as parasites on many decaying logs but I was unable to get acid. My inability to make gunpowder, or any other of our fighters, proved to me that we had a lot more to learn from the European’s technique. We rediscussed the Government’s surrender offer and resolved that it was a mere propaganda and we shouldn’t listen to it. In the evening we returned to our mbuci with confidence that there was no enemy near us. caused by the enemy to our

fighters,

On

I

the 20th January 1955,

camping near to lead

me

it

received news that

us on the rocky slope area.

On

there.

arrival

Ngara

told

I

Ngara was en-

arranged with Gicuki

me

that his section

was

chased by the enemy from the Rift Valley across the Moorlands, where he lost seven fighters including his youngest brother. He

me

mbuci in Rift Valley was very close to Makanyanga’s and that they had made their escape together. The enemy had caught up with Makanyanga in the Moorlands and he had no doubt that Makanyanga had fallen into the enemy’s hands, but told

that his

whether dead or

alive

he didn’t know for the enemy opened

open grasslands. He the Rift Valley must have been raided.

at very close range in the in

said that every

fire

camp

On

5th February, Gitonga, Wacira, Gicuki, fifteen itungati and myself started out for the meeting. We spent a night on the way,

Mihuro

about four in the afternoon on 6th February. To our surprise, we found that our Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall and all other huts had been burned up by the enemy. In the center of the camp was a little note, stuck in a planted bamboo. It said arriving at

at

:

‘You

will find us at Chieni,’ signed

Kimathi.

We

could also see a

big track of our other fighters

who had attended the meeting. Gitonga and I left the others in the camp ruin and went to check the bookstore. We desperately, hopelessly followed an old enemy track leading to the bookstore. On our arrival, we found that all

the books

had been taken and the

store

was completely destroyed.

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI We

camp and

sadly returned to the

433

quickly started for Chieni.

Night came before we arrived at Chieni and we encamped about three miles away.

The

following morning

Kimathi,

the

Murang'a

leaders

bers

of

leaders.

section

Kenya

IDA

2

had

we

arrived at Chieni to find that only

IDA

leaders

of

arrived.

The

Parliament,

was absent;

Mathenge and

three

attendances were eight

mem-

plus 420

1,

warriors,

including

other

IDA

3/1, thirty-six warriors including Mathenge, and IDA 3/3, nineteen warriors, had arrived. Twentyone fighters had arrived from Mburu Ngebo Army Makanyanga’s

—

section

now under

Githengera.

1 he attendance was so poor that we could not carry on our intended plans. The enemy had dispersed our fighters so badly that some were forced out of Aberdare to the bushes and small the

from Kimathi that the Government had collected three sacks full of books from our store. We only had the incomplete book which I carried. We decided to write many letters to Ituma Ndemi Army leaders under the name of Mathenge, its Chairman, and inform the leaders to attend a general meeting to be held at Chieni on 6th March which IDA leaders will be elected. We also resolved that 1955 the twice postponed Kenya Parliament session should meet the same day in the same camp. forests

We

in

Settled

also agreed

Area.

I

learned

that in that session

we would promote

Field

Marshal Dedan Kimathi to be Prime Minister and that Macaria Kimemia and Stanley Mathenge would be voted for by the Kenya Parliament members, whereby the winner would become the Field Marshal and he will be responsible for all our armies and we would expect him to carry on all Kimathi’s duties. After promotion, Kimathi would have little to do with the armies so that the other leaders would be able to practice their ability. Kimathi’s concern would be the K.P. only. The District Committees would be under the Kenya Parliament. The rest of the armies would be

under the Held Marshal. A special anointment ceremony would be performed to indicate these promotions. After encouraging the few fighters who had attended, and being proud and thankful sweep,

we

dispersed.

to

God

My

for keeping us safe after such a strong

group returned

to

our mbuci

in the

Gura

Valley.

The

rest of

February, the Government forces did not enter the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

434

and instead of fighting against us, they instructed our parents, wives, friends and the Home Guards to do all they could to convince us that the Government had really given us an amnesty and they wished us to stop fighting in order to save our lives and release them from Government’s punishments and enable them to return forest

to a peaceful

life.

In order to achieve the villages

and the

this,

Government boundary and

the

forest

forces stopped guarding

instead sent our wives

and mothers in the forest to take food to the forest fighters and have time to discuss our surrender with them. Learning from Gicuki Wacira, who had attended such a meeting with women from the reserves, I understood that the women showed great love and sorrow to our fighters and always shed tears whenever our fighters rejected the surrender offer.

at the request of their relatives

move and

were

talk to the people without

induce the other I

A few fighters who surrendered set free in their villages to

any supervision

in order to

fighters.

warned Gicuki that our

attending such meetings as

fighters

should be stopped

from

would result in weakening our fighters spirit and possibly many would fall in the surrender trap. Gicuki replied that it was difficult to supervise such a rule. He felt that our fighters were suffering from homesickness and they very

much

it

desired the nice food brought

them by the women, and the

other supplies such as clothings. He believed that our fighters would try to hide in order to make such meetings. He suggested that leaders should attend such meetings and talk to the in order to convince them that our victory was just

women

about to be

announced and that the women should encourage our fighters to persevere and not to surrender. He said that such meetings would give our warriors a chance to strengthen the women’s spirits and warn them that they have all the time been fed by the Govern-

ment’s misleading propaganda. Though I did not agree with him, his suggestions were to be continued. I very well understood that the love of our fighters to their relatives and the country was very great and very sympathetic. To me, I had recorded that love sympathy

was the greatest weakNo one can serve two masters. In order to become a strong faithful warrior who would persevere to the last minute, one had to renounce all worldly wealth, ness to the revolution loyalties.

including

his

family; for

if

one caste

his eyes

to his family

and wealth,

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

435

which were in a very detrimental condition, his love and mercy would be drawn to them and he would forget the fight in an attempt to rescue them. This could only lead to surrender and defeat. The Government thought that our feelings were tied to our property and it had destroyed homes or confiscated livestock and even land so that our fighters would feel sorry to lose their lands. 1 he Government claimed that one only could save his land from being confiscated if he surrendered. But knowing the trap, I and other leaders continued to preach that thoughts on family and wealth were strings tying us so that we wouldn’t be able to achieve our aims. After all, we were starving of food and cold and had failed to support ourselves.

We

had no money

How

to send

then could one support his family.

them and couldn’t take any care

of

them.

goodbye to my wife. In a letter I had sent to her enclosing 100s., I had warned her not to expect any sort of help from me for at least ten years time. I had instructed her to take care of herself and our beloved daughter. I had trained myself to think of the fight, and the African Government; and nothing of the country’s progress before independence. I had learned to forget all pleasures and imagination of the past. I confined my thoughts in the fight only the end of which would open my thoughts to the normal world. I had learned that danger in my early days, when my teacher In fact,

I

had

said

—

comrades,

my

pupils, loss of

my

job,

amusements, love of my wife my mind. Those days were

and our baby, were still flashing in long past and I had become accustomed to my way of thinking. In fact, that part of the world was out of my mind. I knew I was different to many others. Up to this stage I had never felt sex desire with the girls in the forest, though I had seen that many had been returned to the reserve where they could be taken care of at maternity, or even at villages, for no child could survive in this frozen forest.

A

few days later, Wambugu, one of our fighters from the mbuci where I was staying, told me on his return from the reserve that he

had

to fight his

own mother, aged

him not to return to the women had started trapping our

crying and cursing that the

who hugged on him forest again. He added

over 60,

fighters inside houses

where they were entertained with food while other women went to call Home Guards who only forced our fighters to surrender

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN at the points of their guns.

who

our fighters of

many

The women’s

trick

became known

to

learned to enter the village with great awareness

friendly traps conducted

by wife or mother or even the

children.

Though our fighters were still willing to persevere and continue the fight, more than half the people in the reserve had become tired and longed only for peace. They had experienced dreadful torture,

collective punishments, disgraceful

and insanitary camps

the concentrated

in

and miserable life in which hunger starvation

was decreasing our population at Government’s supervision. The civilians were forced to labor daily without pay or food. They were highly oppressed and had no means of resistance. Sons and daughters were being shot in cold blood in front of their parents. The parents were rebuked that death was the only freedom their sons were seeking. Thousands of our killed warriors were often taken to the villages for the parents to witness the harvest for demanding freedom.

Radio sets were distributed to all villages in order to propagate the Government s propaganda from the General Information Office, Nairobi. In addition, vernacular propaganda papers were freely distributed to all the civilians, even the illiterate ones and they were forbidden to read any other newspaper. Both the radio and the vernacular papers among them Uhoro wa Ma, The True News—were completely anti-(Mau Mau) revolution. They branded the revolution as Mau Mau and referred to our fighters always as ?

—

spivs,

thugs, ruffians, gangsters, thieves, murderers,

atavism barbancs,

They always

terrorists,

referred to the

mad

outlaws,

and greedy enemies of peace. Government forces as security forces,

bandits

defenders of peace, peace restorers, Home Guards and loyalists. 1 hey referred to the civilians as the law abiding citizens, Kikuyu loyalists or

Government

Generally, at learning

my

good

tribe

servants.

industrious, agriculturist, clever imitators, well organized is

in

its

own

and quick

affairs

brave

and peace lovers, proud of good g humane honesty,’ lovers o giving and helping and haters of begging and bowing and, above all, proud of good fame and of being independent. The Governments propaganda, which was broadcasted at least three times daily, defamed and destroyed the good name of our tribe and egra e * e lowest abyss. The starving, suppressed and ^ oppresse tribes suffered the greatest humiliation from the ters

M

!

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI propaganda

—with

many

practical illustrations

—and

felt

437 the pain

right in their hearts.

The

at the

missionaries,

Government

forces supervision, chal-

lenged the civilians as having revolted against

whom

Supreme Being creation.

They

God

.

.

.

the

Kikuyu

our tribe has honored and obeyed since

draw

referred to the revolt as ‘atavism, barbaric,’ a

The missionary referred to the God the Son, Christ. The mission-

back, setting back the tribe, etc.

God’

fight as ‘the fight against

ary claimed that

God had

—

—Christians—

given his people

and

forces

powers to punish the rebels. If the rebels failed to repent, God would cause them to be finished off. But our people would never like to fight against the unassailable God, lest the tribe perished. Over 75 of the 100,000-man Government force was African, comprising over 30,000 Home Guards (KEM) 10,000 Regular

%

Police, 8,000

Kenya

Police Reserve, plus 4,000 Tribal Police.

The

were regular soldiers in East African (KAR), the Kenya Regiment and the British troops (four battalions). The Government had drawn its African forces from Akamba, Nandi and Kipsigis, Luo and Luhya, Kisii and Tende, Turkana and Somali. Most of rest

who had

these, soldiers

trained at tribe.

They

insulted,

all,

said

had not been scorned and despised the whole Kikuyu

either been badly trained or

:

‘You Kikuyu want to expel the Europeans so that you will rule us! Why have you taken an oath to kill others? To rob Europeans their lands and property? To steal other peoples’ property? So you want uhuru (freedom) to kill and rob others? Do you think that

Kikuyu alone

will

not like your freedom

!

manage

We

you! You claim to be the freedom you will get! You smallest

and

you

will beat

of

rulers of

homes,

livestock,

You Kikuyu have

lost

until the oath goes out

Kenya? Death

is

the only

see;

Your oaths have only caused complete people,

do

you will be ruled by the (which was absolutely true then)

will

uncivilized tribes

We

to free all other tribes?

crops,

trades,

destruction of your

progress and

own

happiness.

your morality and dignity and you have

!’

become maniacs These were some

and phrases frequently uttered to our supporters by their brothers who were supporting the Europeans. When the Kikuyu were mourning for the loss they had of the questions

suffered for African freedom, their African brothers

sented

their

tribes

in

their

interpretation

— not

—who

only

repre-

scorned,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN despised and taunted them, but they beat, tortured, robbed

mistreated them in every way. Yet the

ransom who were not wanted their lives as

Kenya

for all

Kikuyu were

peoples

and

willing to give

—excluding the

settler?

in the country.

In addition to the bad treatment, shame and guilt senses created by the Government’s propaganda, the chiefs, the headmen, the churches, the traders, the educated Africans, the African Representatives

in

the Legislative Council, the

Kenya African Union

were continuously denouncing and disassociating themselves from the revolution. Jomo Kenyatta, the symbol of the revolution, and his five other colleagues, were now serving their seven year sentences passed on 8th April 1953 under leaders, free or detained,

the charges of since,

managing or

assisting to

manage

Mau Mau.

Ever

they were completely cut off from the public and the lack

communication became their lack of leadership and ability at the time when it was greatly needed. But Kenyatta’s name was branded by Government’s propaganda; [he was] the ‘leader of darkness and death, an evil man, opportunist, etc. The revolution had lost a spokesman, apart from its leaders in the forest who were also handicapped on communication bases. I remember to have of their

shed tears at the regret of

my

inability to transmit

how hard I shouted, my from me in that dense forest.

to the public, in spite of

be heard a few yards It

was

my

thoughts

voice could only

at this crucial period that

I first heard of willing conthe villages, which were reported to have unearthed skeletons of informers and traitors who were assassinated two and a half years ago. All this news really shocked me. It made me think that our people had lost the way and were moving in the darkness to the Government’s surrender-offer trap. If we lost both the battle and our claims, it would take us at least another twenty years to be able to motivate people to another revolt, but I was too optimistic and concluded that we could lose the battle

fessions

in

and achieve and justice ever prevailed. Since the Government forces had not interfered with our movements m the forest, our fighters had been able to communicate and learn whereabouts the other fighters were situated. On the 2nd March, 155 fighters and leaders of IDA 3/2, 3/3 and 3/5 and I set off for the Ituma general election and the promotion of Kimathi. our aims

We

if

right

arrived at

Ghiem

late

the following afternoon. Our arrival coincided with the arrival of twelve Kenya Parliament members

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

439

from Gikuyu Iregi Army. We were all glad to meet each other and Kimathi forcasted a successful meeting since there were no enemies within the forest.

‘Mind you, the enemies are not asleep they’re planning what ;

do

next,’ I

to

remarked.

‘Whatever they

will do, they will leave us in this forest,’ said

Macaria Kimemia. ‘Their

sweep operation left us here.’ ‘We are God’s people. They cannot defeat us,’ said Kimathi, leading us to the Kenya Parliament meeting room. We sat down and exchanged reports from various parts of the

forest,

last

while arriving itungati built

new

huts.

Among

the topics

was the Government’s surrender offer. We resolved that if it were not a propaganda, the Government would have asked for our representatives in order to negotiate a peace treaty.

Kimathi told us that he had not received all the paraphernalia for the ceremony which caused Nyaga, Ndiritu and Abdullah to be very busy sending out their itungati to the reserve in order to collect the ordered paraphernalia. The itungati returned safely with all

the requirements.

On

March, the twenty K.P. members spent some time enlisting agenda to be discussed the following day and planning how the ceremony would be conducted. By nightfall, Kihara Gatandi, Gikonyo Kanyungu, with their sections IDA 2/2 and 2/3 and IDA 4/ had arrived with more than 130 fighters. Our worry 5th

1

increased for the absence of Mathenge, the ing.

We

resolved to wait for

Mathenge

Chairman

until

of the meet-

midday;

if

he failed

up then we would put the matter over to all the fighters and discuss whether it would be possible or not to hold the general election. I he attendance was 800 fighters. Nobody had turned up from the Kenya Inoro Army and only one section of the Mburu Ngebo Army and the Kenya Levellation Army had arrived. to turn

After asking

all

the leaders questions which helped

me

to esti-

mate the number of our fighters, and taking into the consideration many camps which I knew very well the losses they had suffered, I concluded that about 35% of our fighters was still at large of which nearly 5,000 were in Nyandarua. Then I told Kimathi my

—

800 captured while in action, 700 surrenderees. Taking an average death rate of 200 persons daily up to the end of 1954 killed by both Government and our forces, this would mean at least 150,000 estimates

:

over 22,000 fighters

all

over

Kenya

killed,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

440

persons killed, taking into account death by starvation or diseases the unsanitary villages which, of course, swept thousands of children and old aged persons. It was obvious that thousands of our supporters and sympathizers had been killed in the

m

reserves,

which had become the battleground on the people had revolted.

KEM

fact that all

Kimathi, agreeing with my estimates, asked seen Gen. Erskine’s report. I replied

me

whether

had

I

that I had not seen it. He pul led a copy of the East African Standard , gave it to me to read and warned me not to tell anyone else about the figures or our

As

estimates.

far as

can remember, by the end of G en. Erskine reported 8,000 killed, 700 hanged, January iokk 880 captured injured, 300 captured unhurt, 888 surrenderees, against 68 EuroI

:

peans, 21 Asians, 1,800 Africans killed by our forces We concluded that these figures were

not correct.

Government was not

willing to

how many

had

people

it

announce the

killed, either in the forest

many PeOP

1

truth,

'

July ^ 95 3. Nevertheless, this

a

d

Tree

^ha we

‘Yes,

is

^

M

promised to pour our 1

^SiSSsaf

“ id

own blood

*-»-»

-

“

P

ii ,

,,

om

the claws

,

»

• •*« more than we expected ’

’

e^^HT"’ H a Go 7 u ‘° ^

who

I

P ro P h «

15

out of the Egyptian slavery

“v

so

he "T •*“ ‘

« - iK.VlT'

wonder whether Gen China

ruthless slaughtering of our people starvation conditions created

•

c

,

,

hy^heC °V

our

army, with unassailable air bombers poorly armed fighters?’

Freedom

r™ w jsz

had predicted many of the emergency chosen by God just like Moses Israelite nation

before

-edom

so that the

"" b “d .n-i

or the reserves,

the price of Freedom,’ said Kimathi. ‘Ken** ° 0d to °Ur ‘ he F

t

all

did

“nated

Had been

e

it

Though not know

•

rnment

° forces

f

**

>

the

^

large we,, ' ec ui I

^"’rn d artlller y

PP ed

cannons against

Yes, he must have told him,’ replied Kimathi. ‘Though

I

do

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI not have confidence

44

1

China; conditions have greatly changed

in

more than a year ago, for Government has increased brutality, strength and methods of defeating our people more than what China could tell. You see, China had only less than ten months experience of the fight in the forest during which time the Government was quite ignorant of the Movement, and of our secrets, and had no knowledge of the forest it has now from both experience and surrenderees who have greatly supplied the Government with information.’ ‘I still doubt whether Kenyatta knows the situation of the people since his arrest

he leads, for

it

is

absolutely true that our tribe

sheep without a shepherd. But Kenyatta

he wouldn't keep quiet knowing the

is

loss of

is

like

a flock of

a good shepherd and

property and

lives of

an unarmed people in the reserves who are shot like unwanted game. I think that if he knew, he would appeal to his people and surely the Government would allow him, for it knows that he is the leader. ‘I

ball

remember Kenyatta saying

that he could

match, and also there were a

lot of

make Kenya

rumors

a foot-

at the beginning

emergency that Communists would help us, but now this is the third year of our fight and there is no one who has come to help us, nor have we received any supply of arms from the Com-

of the

munists.’

Mr

Njama, but you should remember that expectation is better than realization, and also it is very easy for anyone to utter impossibilities as though it was as easy as his ‘It is all

true

what you

say,

speech.’ It

the

was dinner time and we moved

Kenya Parliament

at

to join the other

the mess hall. While

members

we were

of

eating,

Kimathi enquired us how the ceremony was to be conducted. After a long discussion on many suggestions, we decided to call Wandere, an elder over 70 years old, to advise us. After a long talk with him and accepting his advice, we resolved that the ceremony must be traditional, one which was performed in order to promote a man to the top hierarchy council of the elders, i.e., Kiama kia Mataati the Council of Peace. Traditionally, to qualify for this promotion one had to pass through many other ceremonial stages ranging from birth, circumcision, warrior, an officer of the Council of War, marriage, junior elder, Kiama kia ,

Kamatimu

,

i.e.,

Council of Elders, and

finally

Kiama

kia Mataathi.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

442 Age was

A

also considered in the promotion.

sheep or two goats

were given to the higher rank as a fee and in the case of becoming a member of a kiama one had to brew beer of pure honey which was a part of the feast in which the initiate would invite his age friends.

We

tried as

much

as

we

could to copy our old pattern.

Kimathi was fully prepared for the ceremony. He had brewed beer of pure honey and had a gitete full of undiluted honey. He had stored in his hut every type of food that was required. He had three sheeps to be slaughtered, sheep fat and castor oil, [as well as]

warriors weapons

bow and arrow, a headthumbi) and a walking stick, shaped like an upside-down ‘L’. had ordered Elders’ equipment walking staffs mithegi spear, sword, club

?

dress

He

(

—

),

(

mataathi ^leaves of niutaathi tree used by the elders as their handkerchiefs), munyeni headdress, sheep cloaks, hyrax and monkey cloaks to be worn after the ceremony.

We

agreed that the ceremony had to start at sunset the following day. But the participants and the administrator were to be elected the following morning by the K.P. before the meeting commenced. Being quite late, we retired to bed.

At 9 a.m. on the 6th March 1955 the Kenya Parliament met. Kimathi nominated Gathura Muita and Ndururi Vindo to be in charge of his feast to be held in this hut in the evening. He nomimated Abdullah as his companion in the ceremony. He classified his guests friends,

according to elders

divided

Mwangi, would group was

Now

Members

receive

into his

of

Parliament,

Mwangi and father’s

age-group

Irungu.

honor

[i.e,

(riika),

The former

blessing].

Each

to be entertained separately in the who was to hand over to Kimathi

surrounding huts the muthegi, mataathi,

the rank of Prime Minister, anoint and bless him and his successor and conduct the ceremony? The administrator was to be e.ecte by the Kenya Parliament, but Kimathi remarked that since the administrator would become his godfather, he should

be allowed to nominate at least five persons out of Kenya Parliament would elect the

whom

the

administrator. The nominees were Ndintu Thuita, Vindo, myself and two others from Gikuyu Iregi Army. The next qualification was generation-age, Mwangi or Irungu. Two persons who were found to be Irungu were disqualified, for they were of the same age with Kimathi and the administrator had to be MwangiKimathi’s father’s generationso that he would be able to bless him.

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI In order to save time

and get

piece of paper in capital

two

God

‘no’. I

letters,

rid of

any

and the

I

wrote on a

‘administrator’ and the other

folded the three pieces of paper.

that the best

favor,

443

We

right person be chosen

then stood to pray

by

Him

by giving

him the lucky chance of picking the right paper. We then sat down; I threw up the pieces of paper so that they would fall in the center of the circle. As I was not interested in participating in any kind of ceremony, I was the last to pick my paper from the ground. When I opened it, to my surprise, I was to be the administrator. I made excuses that I didn’t know what was required to be done and they all insisted that Wandere would instruct me. We made amendment that Abdullah was to assist me, while Vindo would accompany Kimathi and Nyaga was to take care of the feast with Gathura. In addition to our traditional ceremony, there was another plan to anoint Kimathi as the head of our Government. Traditionally,

no such ceremony could be performed if the initiate was unmarried, for his wife had to stand on his left hand during the ceremony. Kimathi’s wife and legal daughter were still living in Nairobi under the care of our supporters.

was impossible to get her to attend the ceremony. Up to this stage, Kimathi had been living with a girl about four months before abandoning her and taking another from the recent arrivals from the reserves. Wanjiru Wambogo daughter of Waicanguru Wanarua, pretty, brown, healthy, medium girl, had by now completed over six months living with Kimathi. Their love had grown so that Kimathi did not hesitate accepting Wanjiru as his wife. Since Kimathi was the head of our Government, Wanjiru was to be the head of the women and the mother of Mumbi’s children. She was then to be awarded the highest women’s rank, colonel, and knighted with Knight Commander of the Gikuyu and Mumbi Empire. Who was to succeed Kimathi as Field Marshal? It was now midday and Mathenge had not yet arrived. Over 800 warriors were lying idly awaiting him.

It

was his general meeting, under his Chairmanship, and yet he had not yet attended. We were certain that there were no enemies in the forest who might have brought inconveniences.

and incapable,

His

It

qualifications

were

—very

unfit for such a post, for

time hiding, even from other fighters,

popular,

inactive

he had spent most of his afraid of touring other camps,

had no plans, suggestion, advice or organization.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN 444 And now, what about Macaria Kimemia? Uneducated could

clever,

read

and write

in

very

vernacular,

sagacious and active, very brave and with a high

but very

industrious,

commanding

tone,

had toured many camps in the whole forest, lecturing to our fighters on methods of fighting, getting food, unity, obedience and courage, etc. In general, a very auspicious person. Macaria Kimemia would become second to Kimathi and let Mathenge remain with his chair as the head of Ituma Ndemi Army in order to avoid a split until such a time as the fighters from Othaya Division could recognize that Mathenge was inactive for he had tied himself with them on regional thoughts. We agreed not to tell the general meeting our decision and let the warriors decide themselves whether to hold the election or to postpone it. We walked to the general meeting with nothing concrete other than what the general meeting would decide. Wang’ombe Ruga

—

opening prayers and we

said the

all sat

down on

grass surrounded

by bamboo clusters. Kimathi was the first speaker I greet you all, leaders and itungati. First thing, I am very sorry because our Chairman, Mr Mathenge, is absent. I do not know what has happened to him for he should have arrived yesterday :

order to organize the meeting for today. Before I continue any further, you should appoint a temporary chairman for today’s in

meeting.

You

are the chairman, replied

many

though there was a little opposition on doubts that temporary might be permanent. No, said Kimathi. According to the election twenty months ago, I was elected to be the Secretary of Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council, which is [holding a general] meeting here today voices,

for the

first

time since

its

election.

Remember

that our last month’s meeting

did not become successful as our fighters had been badly dispersed by the enemy. It is impossible for me to become

both Chairman

and the Secretary. You must

someone else.’ We finally agreed that Abdullah should chair the meeting. Kimathi then proceeded by giving the names of its [other] officers, which only of Wacira Gathuku was present. He said that the elected leaders of Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council had completely failed to do their duty to their fighters as a council, but as individuals some had helped their mbuci, location find

or division at the

most, with the exception of himself

who had done his best for Ituma Ndemi Army and the other armies of Kenya and, in fact

— PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

445

Nyandarua, Kirinyaga and even Narok. He sword, the gift from Masai fighters, and showed the witness for his leadership and command over a large

for all the warriors in

pulled his

meeting as

He

area.

admitted that as the Secretary of the Ituma Council,

he should share the blame of their Mathenge should carry the most.

He

failures,

which

accused Mathenge for not calling his

what was wrong or what

their

officers

Chairman

even once to

do for the fighters, what advice or suggestions to give them. He had even failed to call a general meeting and report that his officers had failed to accomplish their work; he had not asked for a general election that might give him new, able and active leaders. In general, he had failed. He then asked the meeting whether it wanted to renew the council and discuss

elect I

new

to

officers.

he answers from the audience

Division

Army

and North Tetu

[fighters]

tried

to

Division,

Othaya while the few Mburu Ngebo

split

be mediators.

the meeting into

By

the attendances,

the

North Tetu outvoted Othaya together with Mburu Ngebo Army. The Tetu IDA 1 and its sections demanded an election be held right there.

again,

some

The Othaya

IDA

3 and 4 were splitting supporting the election while others shouted that they sections of

2,

would not participate in the election during Mathenge’s absence giving only one condition, if Mathenge was to remain Chairman. The meeting split into three sections. I attended the Othaya meeting and warned our warriors not to favor a person because of popularity, regional representation or a symbol. ‘We should like someone because of his ideas. If our popular person has no ideas, when he dies we would also die with him on our thoughts for he would leave nothing for us to follow. When a man of good ideas dies, his people continue to follow his ideas. If he had become popular for sight

his activities, then as long as his actions

and mind

love the truth a

which most

of the people, so will his

man

name

remain

in

remain. Learn to

represents apart from his physical personality

you have fallen.’ Though I gained a few supporters, the Othaya Division concluded that there would be no election in Mathenge’s absence unless it was agreed that he would still be the chairman of the new in

of

council.

When we decision.

all

gathered together again, each group reported

Kimathi stood up and ruled that

in

order to avoid a

its

split,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

446 and

achieve good cooperation and unity amongst ourselves, there would be no election without Mathenge. He then appealed to

Mathenge’s supporters to make sure that Mathenge called a general election for Ituma Ndemi d rinity Council or forget that there was such a council, as in fact it was a dead council under to

the

names

‘I

of living persons.

wouldn’t

creates

like to

shame,

be called Secretary of such a council which

and laziness on its leaders. Actions speak louder than words. I and my colleagues will continue to act what we say and do what we think is good for our fighters, supporters and the whole country. Tonight we have a ceremony which Mr Njama will tell you about and in which one of the most active and industrious leaders would be promoted to Field Marshal rank. But such a rank cannot be given to lazy, irresponsibility,

inactive persons or even to one

incapability

who

never punctual to a meeting.’ Kimathi, who had spoken in an angry tone, sat down. When I stood I said Exactly a month ago, just in this very place, seating more than 500 fighters, including Mathenge, all agreed that we shall hold a ceremony today in which we shall is

.

promote Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi to become the Prime Minister of our Government. This would mean to anoint and symbolize him as the head of the revolution— the head of the Emergency Government. We have then been preparing to accomplish our ceremony for a long time. The day has arrived, we too have arrived; it is now about an hour before we start the ceremony. Though we have postponed today’s election because of Mathenge s absence, which was fair because it was Mathenge’s meeting,

don’t think that there would be any such reasons that would confront our ceremony in the last hour. Though we would all it

in

I

have liked very much

to see

Mathenge with us in the ceremony, is obvious now that we are to do without him unless he arrives the last minute thus the saying, Nyanja imwe nditiragia itega .

The absence

.

.

.

one calabash cannot stop one from sending beer to an organized feast,” will have to be fulfilled. The main importance is that when we are to do any ceremony, we must always approach it with goodwill, taking much care not to spoil our ceremony by taboos or having an ill-will to other persons or contaminating it with any impurities that might

mony mony

of

in the eyes of

disqualify the cere-

God. You should always approach any cerewith a humble, honest and clean heart, with a true cooper-

— PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI ation with others,

and good

faith.

I

now

447

appeal to you to forget

your differences of the day’s talk and get together to accomplish the ceremony, knowing well that it is through unity, cooperation

all

and understanding one another that we can

settle

our differences.

we

"Tonight, instead of our daily evening prayers,

will

hold the

ceremony at twilight.’ With this, we dispersed and soon started preparing for the great drama. In a short time all the required apparatus were brought. We entered in my hut and dressed. Abdullah and I dressed like elders.

We

took off our clothes, remaining with undershorts only,

and smeared

over our body with castor

all

oil.

I

then put on a

sheep cloak, tied a sword around my waist with its bright red sheath, put munyeni on my head a feather- or fiber-made beret, rattles on my legs, rubber sandals, an elderly leather satchel under

—

my of

left

mungirima

leaves

—

elders’

legged stool in

Being

muthegi made right hand, together with mataathi

shoulder, a black honorary walking staff tree

—

in

—a

handkerchief

my

left

fully dressed,

really old

my

men.

We

fly-whisk

and a

,

traditional three-

hand.

we walked out had

of the hut pretending to be

changed that our comrades could not recognize us. Amid cheers and laughters and doubts, we went to Kimathi’s hut and found that he and Ndururi had dressed like ourselves, but didn’t have muthegi mataathi, flywhisk or satchel, for they were juniors. We exchanged greetings ‘IVanyua,’ IVanyua father,- Mwangi, to son, Irungu. Wanyua wakine,' was exchanged between persons of the same [generation] age. While sitting down, Kimathi took his ndahi a little gourd half the size of a glass and filled it with the pure honey beer which he had brewed. After each of us had drunk one ndahi, we filled two so greatly

,

:

'

‘

—

‘

—

—

with beer to be used in the ceremony and the rest we put in nyanja, gourds for storing beer. Wang’ombe Ruga took one gitete, a little gourd with sheep’s fat, blood and abdominal dung, and itete

went

at the

main entrance where he stood cleansing

all

the fighters

as they entered the ceremonial hall.

When Wang’ombe

had cleansed all the fighters, Kimathi and his wife to be, followed by Ndururi Vindo and Macaria Kimemia, entered the hall. When they were all seated, Abdullah and I, Wandere my advisor and two other elders who carried

the

sent a report that he

paraphernalia

warriors stood up as

we

required,

entered

slowly walked the

the

hall.

All

the

120 feet along the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

448

narrow path between the standing columns. On our arrival at the platform, I filled a horn with beer from the gitete, purposely letting it flow over to the ground. I held the horn in my right hand and the little fat gourd in my left. Facing Kirinyaga, I asked the audience to attend prayers

Our Heavenly our prayers. all

our

sins

:

Father,

I

beseech you; draw nearer and hear

Thaai\ audience) Our merciful Father, forgive us and wash our hearts, hands and minds as it satisfies (

Thaai ) Oh God defend and guide us for we are your children, your own creation. We believe that you are our leader, general and King of Kings, and we humbly pray you to lead and supervise our ceremony. (Thaail) I now present to you fat and honey (pouring a little to the sides and front), our best produce, your own choice, and which you have instructed our forefathers to present to you in all ceremonies. Now God, I pray you power and wisdom to enable me to accomplish this ceremony in your name, Father, I present Dedan Kimathi to you, the man you chose to lead us in this forest. We have gathered here today to pray you to glorify Kimathi, fill him with power and wisdom, defend and keep him, and let him lead us to victory in your home. Thaai thathaiya Ngai thaai thy

will, so that

we may be

clean in your eyes.

\

(

!

—

(

three times)

down, Kimathi and his party standing, I turned to Kimathi and, pouring fat and honey on his head, I said ‘May this be the sign that we all here accept and witness Dedan Kimathi as the Head Leader of all our armies. May God bless this head, fat and sweet honey help it to grow and rise above all heads in the name of our god. Thaai' I sipped the beer and made a spitting gesture on my both shoulders and sipped again, spraying Kimathi and his girl with it from my mouth. I said May you have power to defeat the enemy, All sitting

:

.

long

life,

many

children and popularity.’

Handing over

and the gourd to my assistant, I took an envelope out of my satchel and holding it together with my muthegi in my left hand and the flywhisk in my right I addressed the audience

the horn

We

know

work done by Dedan Kimathi in our struggle for Land and Freedom. He was the Secretary of the Kenya African Union Thomson s Falls Branch during which time .

all

the

— PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

449

he preached and motivated the desire to fight for our freedom to thousands of people in Thomson’s Falls, Ol Kalao, Leshau and nearly half the Nyeri District.

He

administered oaths to such an

extent that his head was valued at 10,000s. by the Government

who want succeeded for God

nearly two and a half years ago. Thousands of people

Government have not has really protected him, and you his bodyguards, for you too are defended by Ngai. ‘In the reserves Kimathi has organized how our fighters can be to sell this

head

to the

supplied their requirements. In the forest he has organized eight

of records.

Council,

He

has planned

Kenya

many

how

keep differents kinds attacks, has led Kenya Defence

armies, has helped to instruct leaders

to

Parliament, and founded the

Kenya Young

Stars

He

has appointed leaders and issued ranks, has toured nearly all the camps in Nyandarua preaching unity, courage, obedience and discipline, has sent various missions in and out of Nyandarua, has spoken to the Government through letters and even

Association.

to people abroad. His actions

have made

his

name

to be advertised

both newspapers and radios as the leader of the war. Actions speak louder than words. Kimathi has never advertised himself as the leader of the revolution but his actions have to the

world

made him

in

well

known

all

over the world. Has Kimathi stopped

any leader from advertising himself to the world in his own words or actions? Why then are some leaders infested with jealousy and envy at Kimathi’s success? (cheers and great applause). ‘Kimathi, my son, for your good service to your country, your willingness to sacrifice your life for your people, your bravery, your industriousness, your good conduct and leadership has made you the Kenya Parliament, which is the people’s eyes, to promote the today, 6th March 1955, to become the first Prime Minister of Kenya African Government (amid cheers) and knight you Sir

Dedan Kimathi, Knight Commander of the East African Empire. in Here (handing him the envelope containing a letter and 500s.), Parliament s the name of Gikuyu and Mumbi and the Kenya of the authority. You will now be leader of the leaders, an elder Let another first order who only advises and settles down quarrels. is the warrior rise as much as you have done in the army. This honor (handing over the muthegi, mataathi and flywhisk) (shaking which marks that you have passed the warriors stage wakini ). hands and exchanging greetings “Wanyua,” “ anyua elder’s

W

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

45 °

Wang’ombe Ruga comes with wet

skin ribbons, dipped in blood

and the stomach contents of a goat, ngwaru. He puts these bracelets on Kimathi’s right wrist and also on his four companions on the platform, telling them that they had officially joined the elders’ class. I

then turned to Wanjiru

we

with us since

‘Wanjiru d/o Waicanguru has been

:

entered the forest. She has shared and tasted the

bad cold weather, hunger; has managed to run away with leaders’ heavy burdens of clothes and utensils and has never thrown away

make it easy for her to flee. She was very trusted by Gen. Makanyanga who was living with her. Her good conduct and service has made the Prime Minister to choose her in leaders’ property so as to

this

whereby you hand. As the queen

great historical event

Prime Minister’s

left

see her standing

receives the king’s honors

or the wife receives her husband’s honors, jiru.

therefore declare

Wanjiru

by the

may

it

be so with

Wan-

our foremost lady and hereby issue her with the highest women’s rank (handing her an envelope), Colonel Wanjiru, Knight Commander of Gikuyu and Mumbi. I would appeal to you to address her now forthwith as an old woman of your mother’s rank. (Laughter.)’ I took from Kimathi his walking stick, sword, spear and club. These are the warriors’ weapons. They should not be kept by an I

to be

Kimathi or myself but should be kept by the brave, industrious and energetic warrior who is ready to use them rightly elder like

The

at all times.

weapons friend

;

is

warrior to

not the one

I

whom

like

I’m going to hand over these for being my relative, neighbor, or

my

neither because he belongs to

because he

division or district, nor

is

popular, but for the reason that his actions have spoken and proved him to be a hero who is ready to serve the

it

fighters

and

is

country and the one who doesn’t hide and wish only to be served by our fighters’. Ucio uri ho That is true !’ shouted the fighters. his

!

Your Kimemia

the

eyes,

of the

over Kimathi

Kenya Parliament, has

Gikuyu

Iregi

Army

is

seen

that

Macaria

the right person to take

post as Field Marshal. This proves that Kenya Parliament has no favor other than one’s own merits. There are s

only sixty warriors from Murang’a in this hall out of more than 800. If it were a matter of your votes, you would definitely have voted for your own leader or the one who is fully acquainted to

you regardless of the

qualifications.

You cannot

expect excellent

1

PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI

45

work from an unqualified person. Macaria Kimemia has never failed to attend any meeting and has always been punctual in spite of long distances, dangers of the enemy and bad weather. He has all the time cooperated with Kimathi and the Kenya Parliament. Gikuyu Iregi Army has elected him as its head leader. They know his actions better

than

we

do.’

Calling Macaria Kimemia,

who

dressed like a general, to stand

exchanged warriors’ weapons with a horn of beer and the fat gourd. I poured the sheep’s fat (oil) and the beer on his head ‘May this fat and honey soften this head and let it grow saying above other heads. May your head and hands be fitted with wisdom and power. May God bless, keep and guide you, and grant you with power to defeat the enemy. Macaria, your good work has been well recorded in our books and, more important, in the minds up,

I

:

of those

who have

seen your actions.

Kenya Parliament

has decided

promote you to Field Marshal and knight you, Sir Macaria Kimemia, Knight Commander of the East African Empire.’ Amid cheers, I handed him an envelope in which we had enclosed 300s. and a letter. ‘This is a spear, a sword and a club. They are the warrior’s weapons which you must use to defend your country and people from any attackers. This is Kimathi’s walking stick, you must herd our fighters with it. You must be a good shepherd. All our fighters are now under your command. If you work hard you will be promoted again. You are to start your work to

from this minute.’ Macaria sat down. I

right

filled

we had prayed God to ceremony, we have come to the end

then addressed the audience

guide us through cessfully,

this

more than

and guard and

the horn with beer and drank

I

:

‘As

had expected, and

for this

I

it

very suc-

thank

God

once again. I know that many people are very much worried about Mathenge’s position. There are many positions awaiting him and any other leader whose actions will prove him fit. Some of you might be thinking that we have given Macaria a good name, but it and a name, it is work we have given him very difficult is

—

not

given him a good name will to do his job properly, then his Field Marshal rank

tiresome work. If he thinks that

and

fails

we have

of the not be any different from ‘Major’ or general nicknames be boys at dances. Be sure that our ranks are real and should

respected.

‘Though Mathenge was

absent,

we cannot do

all at

the

same

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

45 2 Today was

day for the two promoted; tomorrow may be Mathenge’s, and maybe he will get a better post than the others but at present we cannot say more. Don’t you go and deceive him time.

that he

is

him and

the

neglected or degraded.

that

we

You

all

know how much we

love

have spent the whole day waiting for him. If you are feeling like me, I am very unhappy about it. Think about it this way if Mathenge had been awaiting us all the day to attend his meeting and by evening he found that he was all alone, what would he think? What would you think if you were Mathenge?’ Replies from various people were ‘I would think that you all

:

:

hate me.’

would think that you have no confidence in me.’ ‘I would think that you are all against me.’ ‘I would think that you have all fallen into danger,’ etc. all

‘I

His failure to attend his

own meeting has caused the same kind me. I would now like the Prime Minister,

and doubts in Field Marshal, Wandare, our advisor in this ceremony, and one more leader to say a few words before we go to make fires.’ Kimathi, like an elder, started greeting the audience according to their generation ages, male and female separately *1 am very glad and thank you for your attendance and every effort you have of feelings

i

rendered

me

to

make

this

ceremony

so successful that

it

has

made

am

proud of my own works, which have placed a record in your minds, and that my record in our history up to this stage is very clean and admirable. I have no doubts I shall be able to finish it the same way. You are all leaders, show your effort now and when we achieve independence we ’shall know where to post you and which part of Kenya to send you to lead. It is only through obedience, perseverance and unity that you can learn and develop your talents. I will continue to advise you.’ us all happy.

I

am

I

glad for the responsibility you have given me,’ said Macaria

Kimemia.

I

promise you that

at all costs.

I

will try

my

level best to

maintain

will unreservedly

and mercilessly smash any hindrance of our progress, even [from] within. I will be very strict on obedience and I will sentence you just as Thacker sentenced Kenyatta. If you would like to nickname me Thacker, all the better, but !’ I am willing to die for you The other two leaders stood up to comment on the ceremony. It was now 8.15 p.m. and the last speaker was Wandare, the old man. Just when he started commenting on how successful the ceremony had been, Mathenge entered the hall holding a gitete it

I

of

— PRIME MINISTER DEDAN KIMATHI pure honey and a flywhisk in

hand and,

his right

his left

hand and

his

453

walking

staff in

row with the

after greetings, sat in the front

audience. I

addressed the audience again

:

‘I

am

glad because Mathenge

—

whom we

have been waiting for all the day long has arrived safely, but I regret to say that he has been so late that the train has already gone, leaving him. Nevertheless, if he will be punctual he can board the train next trip. Referring to the meeting you

Mr

Mathenge, we couldn’t hold the election without you on the chair. This proves that we still have confidence in you. Kimathi is now Prime Minister and Macaria the Field Marshal. We were just about to leave the hall when you arrived, having completed all we had to do or say. I know that all our fighters are very anxious to hear you speak; you have five minutes to speak.’ ‘Greetings,’ said Mathenge. ‘I am sorry for being late and I called us to,

would ask all of you who have really been waiting for me to excuse me. I was late right at the beginning for I confused the dates. I thought that the meeting would be on 7th March, tomorrow. I only remembered yesterday that the 7th was the date for the last month’s meeting. I then hurriedly started my journey. I would have arrived here before sunset, but unfortunately we missed the way for some time. It is all right that you have successfully completed the ceremony but “Thutha wa arume nduoyagwo ruoya,” “You cannot find feathers along other men’s paths” (a saying related to birds’ feathers which were used by men as ornaments for headdresses in dances. It was then certain that a man picked all or the best feathers he found on his way and if he left any, then they must be of a low or poor quality.) I very much doubt of whatever good might come after, but “Ngari nditunyagwo maara mayo, of his spots.” Everyone will take his mine. The one who will lead us from the

“You cannot rob a leopard inheritance forest will

—mine

be the leader.

be the leader and

you

for

is

all

The one who

will take us to

freedom

people will follow and obey him.

the election whenever

I

think

it

fits.

You

I

are

will

will call all

my

was prepared for the ceremony and this is the the honey I had brought. (He started pouring the honey on ground and on his flywhisk, spraying all the fighters in the hall, you saying :) May God bless, keep and guide you forever. May have power to defeat the enemy. Peace be unto you all.’ With that we ended the ceremony. Any person who wanted to fighters, I

hate none.

I

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

454

Kimathi a gift for his great day was to take it to his hut and see Gathura Muita who was recording all the gifts. Leaving the hall, those of us involved in the ceremony were entertained by Kimathi as his guests of honor in his hut, where a big feast was conducted. Singing and dancing continued until very give

late at night.

Kenya

Before retiring to bed, the

Parliament, includ-

ing Mathenge, agreed that he, Mathenge, and

IDA and

all

the leaders of

3 and 4, would build their Memorial Hall at H.Q. Kariaini that Kimathi and all Murang’a leaders of the K.P. would open 2,

the hall on

18th

March on

would be opening the H.Q.

March

at

way

Murang’a where they the Gikuyu Iregi Army on 20th

their

for

to

Karuri Ngamune. All the fighters

in the areas

concerned

should attend the general opening and supply the K.P. members with food for safari to Murang’a.

Early in the morning, 7th March,

we

dispersed, returning to our

former mbuci, and being accompanied by Mathenge on our way back to Gura Valley. On the way, I weighed in my mind what we had accomplished in that long ceremony. Firstly, we had created Kimathi the symbol and head of the revolution beyond any doubts. No other leader might think of competing with him and

we had room

successfully achieved our aim. Secondly,

for other leaders to rise

—maybe

we had

created

we would appoint

a Field

Marshal for every army so as to get Mathenge in this rank in order to avoid splits and conflicts. But for most of the time the inactive Mathenge had not sought support from other armies apart from his own division, in which he was building a wall to mark his boundaries. Since

M^athenge was a person of my sub-location, I had learned that the whole of Chinga Location was against him, a third of Othaya Location and a cjuarter of A^ahiga, his own location. I thought that a split would be slight, for Mathenge could only be supported by a few

IDA

Mburu

sections

under Kimbo and only

under Kahiu-Itina. Nevertheless, if the split were to arise, we should settle it by making Mathenge a Field Marshal of the Ituma Ndemi Army. the section of

1

CHAPTER XX

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION By May

of 1955, the

rift

between

forest leaders

had become a

segments of the once unified forest organization. The dissident leaders under Stanley Mathenge formed a new central council, the Kenya Riigi, which set itself in opposition to the Kenya Parliament and undertook

deep cleavage between openly

hostile

a lengthy series of surrender negotiations with Government representatives

which ended in

failure

on

May

account vividly depicts the events which led to

— capped

20th. Karari’s

this

open

conflict

by the Kenya Parliament’s arrest of Mathenge and and other Kenya Riigi leaders and the latters’ eventual escape lays bare the pattern which this cleavage took. Once the split was crystalized amongst top-ranking forest leaders, it is not surprising in view of the vertical patterning of loyalties discussed earlier that lesser section and sub-section leaders, and the followers under them, tended to continue or withdraw their support of the Kenya Parliament largely in

—

terms of their allegiance to particular territorial leaders. Thus, reflecting the strong leader-followers-locality ties characteristic of the forest organization, Othaya groups and leaders aligned

themselves for the most part with Mathenge and the Kenya the Riigi, while Kimathi and the Kenya Parliament retained a support of North Tetu leaders and followers. Kahiu-Itina,

North Tetu leader

allied

with Mathenge, was able to hold the

Fort support only of itungati under his personal command. The remained Hall groups and leaders under Macaria Kimemia steadfastly behind

Kimathi and the Kenya Parliament, while

the Mbaria Kaniu carried the support of Fort Hall sections of Mburu Ngebo Army under his command. A vertical pattern of

were, segmentation thus emerged as dissident Kenya Riigi leaders leaders on the whole, able to retain the support of subordinate

and their followers. With the escape

of the dissident leaders 455

and the development

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

45^

of openly hostile relations between the

Kenya itself

Riigi,

each of these forest bodies claimed legitimacy for

while challenging that of the other.

though

Kenya Parliament and

failing in

its

The Kenya

Parliament,

original efforts during the trials, continued

for a time to regard the

Kenya

Riigi leaders as individual rene-

gades and refused to consider their itungati as enemies. Claiming sole authority over Nyandarua fighters, the Kenya Parliament

hoped to apprehend and try the Kenya Riigi leaders while at the same time it sought to contact the Government agents so as to assume its rightful position in the negotiations. The Kenya Riigi, on the other hand, claiming to represent the majority of illiterate Kikuyu fighters, attacked the Kenya Parliament as a body dominated by Kimathi and a few educated members who favored North Tetu and sought only personal power and reward at the expense of the illiterate. Though its base of popular support among Aberdare fighters was somewhat narrower, the Kenya Riigi claim to legitimacy was greatly enhanced by its position in the surrender negotiations, the cease fire it had agreed to with the Government, and by the Kenya Parliament’s inability to apprehend its leaders. With the breakdown of the surrender talks, Government resumed its land and air attacks on the forest and, perhaps more significantly, intensified its efforts to isolate and starve out the remaining guerrilla fighters, whose numbers had been reduced to around 5,000. A tight control over both Kikuyu Villages’ and the forest fringe, combined with a Government food denial policy requiring that cattle be kept in guarded enclosures during the night and prohibiting the peasant cultivation of food crops within three miles of the their

forest,

forced the forest units to utilize

dwindling supplies of arms and ammunition exclusively for

food raids and, where absolutely necessary, defense.

On

Tusha stream, Mathenge paused a little on the way and told me to go ahead for he was following us. After two hours walk, without seeing Mathenge and his men, we arrived at Ngara’s mbuci 1 told Ngara about the ceremony. He then asked whether we had met Kahinga s itungati on the way, taking a Government message to Kimathi which was brought to the forest by four arrival at

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION Ngara

457

had left his camp about 2 p.m. in the afternoon with a guide from his mbuci to Chieni. I asked Ngara whether he had inspected the Government messengers. He replied that his clerk had told him that they had a good letter from Kahinga and that the known itungati from Kahinga’s mbuci spoke well for them. Thinking that the Government messengers might hurt Kimathi, surrenderees.

I

said that they, the surrenderees,

hurriedly wrote a letter to

The Prime

On my

him

:

Minister, Sir D. Kimathi, arrival at Ngara’s mbuci, 3 130 p.m.,

I

learned from

Kahinga Wachanga is keeping four surrenderees with a Government message for you in his mbuci. One of them with three other itungati from Kahinga’s mbuci passed at Ngara’s mbuci at 2 p.m. on their way bringing the Government

Ngara

that

message to you. For security reasons, get these people thoroughly scrutinized and interrogated by junior officers before you meet them. In case they

fail to

arrive there

please send information to

all

IDA

by the following morning, sections that surrenderees

working for the Government are amidst us and every mbuci should beware of them, their intentions, motives, etc. advisable to strengthen the inspection of all incomers to an mbuci in order to avoid a spy from entering your camp unnoticed. I expect to be in Kahinga’s mbuci within two I

think

it

days time for further investigation.

Your Brig.

loving father,

Gen.

Sir.

K. M. Njama

Ghief Sec., Kenya Parliament 4

7 / 3/55

P-

m

-

two of our itungati and two of Ngara s, I we ordered them to run as quickly as they could on the same way had come and take the letter back to Chieni. I told them that they Giving the

had

letter to

to overtake Kahinga’s messengers

and

try to reach Chieni very

early the following morning.

When

night came,

we

Mathenge had not followed Kahiu-Itina’s section, whom we

learned that

but more likely had stopped at learned, from Ngara’s itungati had returned.

us,

,

ing

I

crossed the

Kibira’s mbuci.

Gura River and

He

mbuci wanted our

told

me

The

following morn-

arrived at Kariaini at

that the surrenderees in

leaders to go

and negotiate with

midday in Kahinga s the

Kenya

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

458

Government how

to

put the fighting to an end.

He

told

me

that

they were being supplied with food and other requirements. ‘In

Government has

mbuci with bags of maize flour, etc. Kahinga’s itungati have been accompanying these surrenderees when they meet their European officers on the Chinga road. Their last meeting was reported that the Europeans agreed to hand over their Sten guns to Kahinga’s itungati in exchange for our banda, just for a short time to look at and fact, the

check our itungati

homemade

guns.

started supplying Kahinga’s

They then shook hands with Kahinga’s

and bade them goodbye, promising

to return

on the 17th

March.’

was very surprised with the news for I couldn’t understand what kind of friendship Kahinga had with the enemies living with them in his camp, being supplied with food and clothing. I

—

I

took out

my

drafted letters to

Kigumo

areas

Challenge notebook, put carbon papers all

leaders of

and asked them

to

IDA

and 3 in attend a meeting 2

and Kariaini and in,

at Kariaini to

about the surrenderees in Kahinga’s mbuci. The other items for discussion would be the planning, organizing and distributing labor for the building of our H.Q. Kenyalekalo Memorial discuss

Hall to be opened by Kimathi on the 18th section leaders

and the Gikuyu

Army

March— all

the

IDA

1

would be present on their way to Murang a where they would open a similar hall. The meeting would be held in Kibira’s mbuci on 13th March. The following day, I toured King’ora’s and Kibico’s mbuci and learned from many itungati that they had gathered from Kahinga’s itungati that the Government messengers in their camp were always talking of how the Government was ready and willing to forgive and let all by-gones be by-gones and settle our problems peacefully. I asked them whether they would like to shake a Gicakuri’s

(European’s) hand.

hands but

[said they]

would

Iregi

They

like to

all

leaders

rejected the shaking of

witness that really the Euro-

peans had stopped entering the forest and shooting our fighters and were only willing to talk the matter over. When I asked

them what

they thought Government’s intentions were, they told was to induce us to stop fighting.

me

that

it

With a six-man-strong escort, I arrived at Kahinga’s mbuci on nth March. He received me warmly and introduced me to the Government messengers— Ndirangu Kabangu, a person whom I

knew

before as a gitungati in Kahiu-Itina’s sections under Ndiritu

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

459 Thuita, and one Mung’ata Kiguta, from Kirinyaga. He told me that Kariuki

Wambugu and Wambui d/o Wanjau,

a

girl,

had gone

Mt. Kenya and would rejoin them on 17 March. I asked Kahinga which Government messenger had taken the letter to Kimathi. He answered that only his itungati had taken the Government letter. I asked him what was the contents of the letter. He replied that it was a Government appeal for a peaceful negotiation for putting bloodshed to an end. The Government wanted to

our representatives for the negotiations.

‘Who had

demanded. ‘The Kikuyu-written letter was signed by Mr Windley, the Chief Native Commissioner, and General Heyman.’ Sending the Government messengers away, I asked Kahinga how he first met them and how he came to live with them. He told me that he had met them at Mihuro on 10th February. [He had gotten lost] on his way to attend his first session of the Kenya Parliament on 7th February, since he had been informed that he had been appointed to become a member. He had then lived with the Government’s messengers for exactly a month. Kahinga told me that the four messengers were forest fighters who had surrensigned the letter?’

I

dered and they were not intending to spy our fighters but only wanted to see that our leaders will get in touch with the Govern-

ment and arrange how to end the fight. interroI asked Kahinga whether he had ever inspected them or gated them. Fie replied that he had interrogated them but had never inspected them. I told him that I wanted to inspect them thoroughly and interrogate them. ordering my I started with their leader, Ndirangu Kabangu guards to inspect them. He was stripped naked and scrutinized

—

thoroughly, but

we found nothing dangerous

in his possession

nor

in any peculiar mark. After dressing, I had him swear with soil, He the name of God, that he would tell me only the truth. poorly admitted that he had surrendered because our fighters were armed and couldn’t by any means defeat the Government forces were only in the fight. He said that he had learned that our fighters while the decreasing daily in numbers and arms and ammunition

Government was

increasing daily.

‘The decrease of your itungati ,’ he

said,

‘means perishing of our

continue the people, the fighters as well as the civilians. If we have perished, fight until we are finally defeated or all our fighters

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

4^0 we would be ment

in

a worse condition than today while the Govern-

and while the forest fighters’ efforts are regarded seriously by the Government. It would be easier to achieve our aims at this stage for we have proved to the Kenya Government and world that we are men. Had we a supply of arms, the Government could not defeat us. Nevertheless, I would like to make it clear that the mass of our people in the reserves are so oppressed that they are now only praying for an end of this miserable life. Be sure that all our people are now Government prisoners in the villages and cannot fight anymore; neither can they get anything to help you with, nor can they get means of contacting you any further.’ Do you know that within the last month our fighters have managed to enter villages and get supplies?’ I asked. ‘Yes, I know,’ he replied. ‘But the people in the reserves are so still

recognizes us as brave fighters

poor that thev cannot afford their own clothings or food. It may surprise you to hear that they are eating sweet potato leaves like

and many other leaves that you have never heard of being eaten by man in history. One of the facts I haven’t told you is that the Government has let your fighters enter the villages because it wants you to come out of the forests and go back into the reserve. The Government knows that when your fighters go into the villages, they would be convinced by their parents and relatives to abandon the fight.’ ‘Are you sent by the masses or by the Government?’ I asked. We are sent by the Government to call you for negotiation talks that would end the war.’ ‘Which Government officer sent you?’ I queried. Firstly, the Special Branch officer, Mr Ian Henderson, asked me whether I knew Kimathi and whether I would be willing to convey a Government message to him. I told him that I knew Kimathi very well and I could take the message to him, but I was afraid that Kimathi might order his itungati to kill me for being a Government stooge. Mr Henderson told me that for one and a half years I had lived in the forest, that I was willing to sheep,

order to save

my

die in

people

Finally, he said, I

of the

enemy

and that made

me

Government’s enemy. surrendered into the enemy’s hands but instead

killing

me

a revenge, they treated me well in food, clothing, housing, etc. This is because the Government had changed its mind. It had learned that it cannot settle our in

problems by

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION people and even

46 1

were able to kill all the fighters, the demand for land and freedom would recur in the future. The Government believes, he said, that it could settle the matter with you once for all. It is on this ground that the Government has built hopes on me and my colleagues that I will be able to convey this killing

if it

valuable message to you fighters and

I

am

glad that

I

am

talking

Kenya Parliament, a person who I know that once you have received the

to the Chief Secretary of the

know

loves his people. I

Kimathi in a short time.’ ‘Is Henderson the Government officer that has sent you?’ ‘No, I am only working with him. When I agreed to bring the message to you and declared that I did not fear to be killed by my own people in my attempts to save thousands of lives and bring message

it

will reach

an end, he took me to Mr Windley, the Chief Native Commissioner, in the Government’s Secretariate Office. 1 here, when I admitted to carry the message to Kimathi, His Excellency the Governor of Kenya, Sir E. Baring, came to see me. I repeated this

war

my

promise to him.

to

He

he would be very glad if I took that Government message to Kimathi. The message, which was signed by Windley on behalf of the Governor and Heyman for said that

Gen. Erskine, was handed to message

left

to deliver

it

here on 7th

me by Mr Windley

March with Kahinga’s

itungati

I

hat

who were

to Kimathi.’

‘How much

are you paid for your service to the

‘Not a penny, apart from food and clothing. the love of

in Nairobi.

my

people and at the

risk of

I

my own

Government?

am life

doing

it

for

—from both

Government and my own people.’ ‘What does Government do with surrenderees and captives? ‘Formerly, as you know, many of the captives were shot in cold

the

blood right on the spot; others were shot for refusing to give the

enemy any information

that might endanger others or enable

them

where death or long sentences were the of only answers. Others were killed by Home Guards because Home personal hatred based on lands, women, revenge, etc. 1 he of Guards and their KPR’s used to put ammunition in the pockets to be taken to the court

caught a captive so that he could be sentenced to death for being Gen. with it. From 18th January this year, the Governor and Erskine have appealed to their forces not to

any more people. surrenderees and capkill

Detention camps have been established for and medical tives at Thika where they are given food, clothing

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

4^2

treatment and are well protected. The Governor has promised all the people that no one will be prosecuted for any crime committed

from the declaration of the emergency up to 18th January 1955. I hope you have read this from the leaflets dropped by the airplanes.’

‘Do you think that we are fighting for the food, clothing and detention promised by the Government?’ ‘No, I know that we were fighting for land and freedom, but this could only be resolved in the negotiations I am calling for.’

Government know where Kenyatta and the KAU are so as to negotiate with them about our land and free-

‘Doesn’t leaders

dom?” You

KAU

should bear in mind that Kenyatta and the have all the time denied their knowledge of the fight.

leaders

They have

denied membership, leadership and, worse still, they neither support the fighters nor show any sympathy to the revolution. Their general comment is “Government should deal with control all

and discipline all the criminals.” It is on these grounds that the Government has decided to negotiate with the war leaders, whose country

s

peace

rests in their

can stop or continue the

hands for they are the only ones

who

fight.’

Do

you know that we learned during China’s negotiations that the Government only wanted to trick us into a trap?’ Yes, I know. But this time I trust it is not a trap but a true negotiation, for I have seen the Governor and he promised me that

it is

a true negotiation.’

you to return to your section and continue the fight as you vowed, would you agree ?’ Yes, I would agree if you could arm me and supply me with ammunition, food and clothing, and do the same for our other itungati. How can you win while you are fighting against four strong enemies clothes, food, arms, and Government forces each strong enough to defeat you?’ asked Ndirangu. ‘Do you know that you have violated your vows by surIf I ask

—

rendering?’

know. I have done what I could and left what For one and a half years I had been waiting

‘Yes, I

not.

I

could

for my death every minute, but the merciful God spared my life. During that time you acted as a leader and you know very well that I have received no reward for my service and I very much doubt whether

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION I

shall receive

My

it.

heart

any more of our people

with the dead and

is

to die, for

I

none of the dead

463

wouldn’t

like

shall ever rise

to fight again for this country, but surrenderees like myself will fight again for the

country when we would be better equipped for

the fight. But remember, that

have come here to

you with the Government with whom you can peacefully settle what you are fighting for. I have not come to spy or trap you into the GovernI

link

power in your hands. You can kill me. You can refuse the negotiation and continue the fight until you realize the defeat and by that time you will not be able to bring the dead to life again. Their widows and orphans will always

ment hands. You have a

lot of

curse you.’

‘How do you know ‘I

am

Government is not trapping us?’ Government is not trapping you because

that the

sure that the

according to the Governor’s promise only healing the injured ones. it

cannot maintain

all

of

you

it

is

not killing people but

The Government in prisons

is

has run bankrupt,

or detentions, feeding and

clothing you and paying thousands of warders. In fact, the sur-

renderees

who

are found not dangerous to the public or those

have not hatred with the kamatimo are not returned to their villages and

The Government the country

is

who

at all detained, but are

set free, restricted to their villages.

does not want the fight and in fact everybody in

praying for peace.’

‘Would you

also

pray peace from me?’

‘Definitely yes!’

‘Then go in peace and wait to hear more from me today or tomorrow. Don’t you be afraid if you are confident of your stand. As Ndirangu left, I told my guards in his presence not to guard

him any more. Being now more confident than bility of negotiation,

my

duty was

first

laying a trap for us. arrival

I

a negotiation was necessary, to find out that the Government was not

and

how I

before in the possi-

satisfied that

called for

Ndirangu again

asked him whether he could take

my

later.

On

his

message to the

Government and bring me a reply. He said that Mr. Henderson (Kinyanjui) was coming in that forest area once a week to collect messages from the forest fighters and bringing them replies from Government but the main thing was not to establish a correspondence with the Government. ‘Since this would be a part of both I introduction and negotiation it would be all right. If you sent me

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

464

would take your letter to Nyeri tomorrow or wait until Henderson comes on 17th March.’ I asked Kahinga to call the other surrenderee for interrogation. I repeated my procedure and asked the same questions. I learned through their answers that while Mung’atu Kiguta had surrendered for personal security and had turned against the revolution, Ndirangu was very sympathetic to the suffering of other people.

spent the night in Kahinga’s mbuci in order to be able to observe the cooperation of the surrenderees and the rest of I

Kahinga’s itungati. Kahinga Wachanga, self

who had nicknamed him-

the ‘Colonial Secretary of the States’

when he was a clerk to days when Kariaini was

Thiong’o Watoria and Gicuki, in the early strong, had become weak in body and mind. I suspected that he might surrender and possibly influence his itungati. asked Kahinga what he had done or told the Government. He replied that [he had done] no more than inform the Government of I

convey the message .... apart from writing a letter, a copy of which he showed me, asking the Government to show its willingness to end the fight by releasing detainees and captives, his efforts to

stopping

drawing

communal its

forced labor in the reserves and, finally, withforces from the reserve.

congratulated him for what he had done and asked him not to write any more letters on his own to the Government. I told I

him that Kimathi was coming in that area to open a Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall at old H.Q. Kanaim on the 18th and that he would be accompanied by all the leaders of IDA and Gikuyu Iregi Army members of Parliament. It would then be possible to discuss 1

the message he sent to Kimathi from the Government. In addition to this, I notified him of the meeting I had called for all the leaders in that area to consider the building of the Memorial Hall. I

warned him, on the question

of keeping surrenderees in his camp, that their influence could lead to the surrender of his itungati. I

him

that I completely disagreed with him for being supplied with food by the enemy and keeping them in his camp, that he told

made a rendezvous where he should be meeting with Government messengers and by all means not in his camp where his

should have

itungati were slowly falling to surrender.

had

sufficient

render.

power

of ideas that

I

told

him

that Ndirangu

would convince them to

sur-

:

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION The

following day

him

all

We

were

I

visited

Kihara Gatandi’s

about Kahinga’s section.

He

agreed with

section

me

465 and

told

in all points.

matter at a leaders’ meeting the following

to talk over the

day.

On

13th March, sixteen section leaders and five

members of the Kenya Parliament from Kariaini and Kigumo areas met. Mathenge and Ngara, though invited, didn’t turn up. Kimathi was still at Chieni. Though many of them knew much about the surrenderees from their itungati, they did not want Kahinga or his itungati to know the whereabouts of their mbuci in case the surrenderees might direct the enemy to the surrounding mbuci. In fact, they were glad that Kahinga had not turned up in the meeting. The meeting resolved to draft a letter to the Government in favor of the negotiation and set forth conditions. It condemned the harboring of surrenderees or Government messengers done by Kahinga. All mbuci were to shift in new sites unknown to Kahinga’s men. Some itungati were to be sent to Kahinga’s daily so as to find out what was being done there. We agreed that each section was to send ten itungati to the old H.Q. and they should start building the Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall on the 15th and all building work should be completed on

the

17th,

including leaders’ huts and

Wacira Gathuku would supervise the building work and the site should be a few hundred yards west of the old hospital. By the evening of the 17th all the food contributed by itungati shelters.

each mbuci for the leaders

who would

visit us,

including their safari

food to Murang’a, should be handed over to the Divisional 1 reas-

by that evening in order to check that everything was perfectly done before midday, 8th March, the opening day. urer,

Kihara Gatandi. All the leaders must be

at the hall

1

I

then drafted the following

letter to the

Government

His Excellency the Governor of Kenya Sir E. Baring

General Sir G. Erskine Sirs, I

talk

met your messengers on the previous day. As a with them,

I

nearby area under five

members

an urgent chairmanship

called

my

of the

result of

my

meeting from the sectional leaders and

leaders’

—

fifty

Kenya Parliament

including myself.

We

have learned from both your message and messengers that the

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

466

Kenya Government

is

and that you are ready

We

tion.

all

intelligent effort to 1

to

here at this

human

make

willing to put

it

an end to the bloodshed

meet our representatives for negotiameeting congratulate you for your

we

put our a success. But we do not want to mix up your decision.

If

this

be true

shall

8th January 1955 surrender offer with the negotiations.

Meanwhile I have forwarded your message to Kimathi and at the same time have called a Kenya Parliament session to be held on the 8th March in order to discuss your request. 1

We demand

a written proof that

signed by you both. Secondly,

we

this

is

a true negotiation and

suggest to you that in order to

prove to us that you don’t want to continue the

you can withdrawing your fight,

by releasing detainees and captives, forces from the reserve, disarming the Home Guards, dissolving the villages, stopping communal forced labor, and opening the closed schools and trading centers.

start

it

Our China

representatives

are

ready,

they

were

elected

during

Be sure that our representatives would only come when we received your signatures and not from any other

s

false negotiations.

officer, lest

it

be a trap.

Stop bombing the

forest, as this

Yours

would disturb our meetings.

faithfully,

Gen. Sir Karari Njama Chief Secretary, Kenya Parliament

Brig.

On

and 6th I assisted Wacira Gathuku at the building of our H.Q. Memorial Hall and visited Kahinga’s mbuci on the 17th morning. I read the letter to him and asked him which of his itungati were going to meet Henderson so that I could give them the letter. He told me that he was one of those who were going. I tried to stop him from going for I was afraid that he would be interrogated by Henderson and give him wrong impressions and ideas, for Kahinga had not attended a single Kenya Parliament meeting and didn’t know its policies. He insisted on going and at 10 a.m. he left me to meet Mr. Henderson and his group of surrenderees. He promised me that he would return to the camp about 1 p.m. At 2 130 p.m. Kahinga’s itun S ati ^turned to the mbuci with news that Kahinga, two other fighters, and Kahono Githu, who was to become his clerk, had left for Nairobi in a Special Branch Land Rover. the 15th

1

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION Being very disappointed with Kahinga, there at 6 p.m. My anger increased when

I

left for

H.Q.

467 arriving

found that the attendance was very poor. From Kigumo only Gitonga’s and Gicuki’s I

mbuci had arrived bringing leaders’ food. Around Kariaini, IDA 4, under Gikonyo Kanyungu, had the best attendance, then IDA 2/2 under Kihara Gatandi, then IDA 2/3. Nevertheless, we passed the night talking about Kahinga and also what might be the cause of some leaders and itungati failing to turn up and do their duty. Leaders’ huts, which were supposed to be built by Ngara’s itungati were still not touched since they had not arrived. We spent the whole day of the 18th building huts, cleaning the compound, etc. Mathenge, who was supposed to organize the opening of the hall had not even arrived. All we knew about him was that he was at Kigumo. At two in the afternoon, Kimathi arrived with a group of 148 persons including sixteen members of Kenya Parliament. Kimathi told me that he and his party had lodged at Mathenge’s for the previous night and they were badly treated by Mathenge. ‘Mathenge did not want to talk with any of us,’ said Kimathi. ‘He had forbidden all his itungati to give us any welcome. Though we encamped by his mbuci, they completely refused to give us any help. Mathenge himself refused to accompany us. Since he did not want to talk to me last night, I cannot tell what he has in his mind. I can only guess that he became angry when Macaria was promoted instead of his being promoted.’ ‘Things have started going bad,’

might cause a since

we

1

told

him all members

split at this stage.’ I told

parted.

Kimathi and

all

the

Kimathi. ‘Mathenge that

had happened

of the

Kenya

Par-

liament became very angry for they could not trust Kahinga to represent the fighters, for they for nothing,

and

his failures to

knew him as a person who boasts attend Kenya Parliament meetings

and any other meetings, apart from the Mwathe General Meeting in

r

953>

made him

lag behind our policies.

‘Kahinga has elected himself our representative just the same way he had self-styled himself “Colonial Secretary of the States,’

‘Maybe he is trying to find a way to surrender or gain fame but I would expect nothing good out of him. Many leaders commented and the talk continued for a time. By s sunset only 368 persons had arrived. We learned from Gitonga itungati that Mathenge had sent a message to the fighters in the said

Kimathi

angrily.

—

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

468

Othaya Division warning them not to attend any meeting led by Kimathi. He had told them that he would open the hall when Kimathi was at Murang’a. Kimathi opened Kenyalekalo Memorial Hall, the H.Q. of IDA 2, 3 and 4. He stood at the entrance with Wang’ombe Ruga who cleansed the itungati while Kimathi blessed them and wished them best of luck.

My

main speech in the hall was ‘unity is strength and division meant defeat.’ Kimathi condemned all over-ambitious men. He said that those people were the source of evils and dangers to a society. He warned our fighters not to fall in the Government’s trap of the surrender offer. He promised that he and the Kenya Parliament would attend the matter carefully whenever he got in touch with the Government. Wacira Gathuku read a verse in the New Testament ‘Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, :

they shall deceive the very

Behold,

have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold he is in the desert; go not forth; behold he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.’ Wacira said that we were about to the end of our fight and that many leaders, knowing that fact, had started blowing their own pipes aiming at greatness.

and the

false

elect.

He

pointed out the dangers of disunity

statements and promises

attempt to win followers.

I

He warned

be no other organization than the

made by

the leaders in their

our fighters that there would

Kenya

Parliament.

Macaria Kimemia, commenting on Wacira’s speech, said that any person who would be found acting on his own and not through the Parliament would be prosecuted. When I stood up again to sum

up the speeches, I told the audience that if a person stole a police uniform and wore it, he would be a policeman to those who did not know him; but he would hide from the real policemen and from all those who knew him, his friends, his relatives, his parents and even from his children. He would not like them to see him in a uniform which he had got in a wrong way. He would be proud to all if he had got it in the right way and at the right place. Those who had self-styled themselves in ranks were thieves and did not like to

why

appear to the Kenya Parliament

in case

they

they stole the ranks. In the same way, those

may

be asked

who were

stealing

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

469

our itungati misleading them into Government traps, were great thieves and whenever caught they should be prosecuted. We walked out for dinner and returned for singing and giving ,

the

other leaders opportunity of speaking to the itungati.

We

agreed that Kihara and Gitonga were to stay at H.Q. in order to learn what Mathenge was planning to do and also to check on

Kahinga’s movement after entertainment,

we

his return

all

the

slept.

Early the following morning

We

of 178 warriors.

from Nairobi. After

we

started for Murang’a, a party

climbed due west to the Moorland

bamboo, now with new shoots not more than

in the

dry

On

our

five feet high.

many

streams in

order to avoid descending and ascending their valleys,

we turned

arrival at Nguthiru, having passed the sources of

due south moving up the slopes of the second highest peak of Nyandarua. After crossing North and South Mathioya rivers, with their

many

tributaries,

we encamped

for the night in

one of the deserted

camps. From sunrise to sunset we had only half an hours

rest;

we

had gone more than fifty miles. After eating my half-ration dinner, and feeling very tired, I fell asleep. The following day we continued our journey, crossing Maragwa River and climbing its far slope, crossing a big ridge path and then moving into a dense bamboo forest on level land. Moving behind the long convoy with eight strong guards, I arrived in Karun Ngamune at 5 p.m. to find over 1,200 warriors who had come for the opening of Karuri Memorial Hall. Kimathi had arrived an hour before me and was now lecturing the big audience. A large group of men and women had been invited from the Karuri Memorial Hall was the biggest of all our halls— 150 by 30 feet. Our fighters seemed very happy and proud when Kimathi told their parents ‘You have always been deceived that that they were all killed by there were no people in the forest reserves.

:

—

bombs; but this is only a small part of the Gikuyu Iregi Army. Do you now believe that the Government doesn’t tell you any truth? ‘£7, Yes !’ they shouted. ‘Go and encourage all other parents that we are alive, strong and healthy. As you can see, we are poorly clothed and armed. When you return to the villages send us clothes and ammunition. Kimathi then

called all the

members

of the Parliament on the

platform, blessed them by pouring diluted honey on their heads

and introducing

us.

Then two

old aged persons, a

man and woman

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

470

from the reserve, smeared ram fat on our forefaces, hands and joints, and laying their hands over our heads, prayed and blessed us and wished us the best of luck. This was followed by special prayers for those leaders by all. When all was over we continued covering our program by allowing each leader to speak to the audience.

The meeting

The leaders were left in the hall with the parents and mothers who presented us with the food they had brought. We ate while talking with them. They dispersed just before twilight.

confirmed to us that they had been defeated by the Government propaganda and its punishments. They promised us that they

would

tell

the civilians that there were

We

many

thousands of fighters

and resumed at 10 p.m. for singing and entertainments, after which we retired to bed. The following day, the parents and the fighters from far away mbuci left in the afternoon, after we had issued ranks to some fighters. We remained in the camp for three days during which we resolved that the Gikuyu Iregi Army should give the Kenya Parliament eighty well-armed fighters and fifty carriers who were to be stationed at Kariaini H.Q. for guarding the Kenya Parliament during the time which it would negotiate with the Government and discipline all the leaders who seemed to brag for disobeying the Parliament, for acting on their own whereby they had let us down many times and even our supporters, by presenting many contradictory ideas and rules which only proved that we were an the forests.

in

dispersed

—

unorganized body.

On

March we

24th

left for

Kariaini H.Q.

We

ascended the steep

ridge path due west

and by eleven in the morning we were climbing the second peak of Nyandarua on its southern end. At midday we were on its top. Though this peak is marked at 12,816 feet, the eyes consider

it

to be the highest

—possibly because

it

is

sharp and

flat— and with the best view on all the sides. Here, one can see an iron-bar cross standing about twelve feet high and being cemented on the ground by Catholic padres in 1910. Lake Naivasha the other

is

seemed very near down below on the western side. We descended its grassy slopes due north just above the source of the Gura River into the small thorny and bamboo bushes. In the afternoon still

in the

we changed toward

when we were We hadn t sufficient tents and we could not us. The long rains had started; we only prayed

Moorlands.

build huts for 280 of

the east. Night

fell

1

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

47

Ngai to save us from rain and cold. Though there was heavy rain on Mt. Kenya that afternoon, it ended in the northern end of Nyandarua. We arrived Kariaini at about 5 p.m. Kihara Gatandi had arrived to meet us. We learned from him that Mathenge had called all the fighters from Kigumo and Kariaini area to come and open the H.Q. under him. With a good attendance, he had conducted an opening ceremony in the same hall. This proved that Mathenge was not satisfied with Kimathi’s prayers and the opening of the hall. On the other hand he was doing it to show his followers that he had equal powers with Kimathi. In his speech, Mathenge had told his audience not to obey Kimathi and his Kenya Parliament, and had instructed them to give their allegiance to Kenya Riigi {riigi = old Kikuyu doors made a league of interwoven thin sticks mostly from climbing plants) under his leadership in cooperation with Mbaria Kaniu, Kimbo,

—

Kahiu-Itina and that

Kenya

Riigi

many

non-yes-yes leaders.

had been formed

in

He

told his audience

order to oppose the Parlia-

ment and express the voice of the majority of fighters who are illiterate and who were led and controlled by a handful of ‘yes yes’ leaders. He remarked how cowardly and selfishly the educated men had abandoned the fight in the hands of the illiterate peasants. He complained that the Kenya Parliament had neglected him on the account that he was

helped one to

fire his

illiterate.

He

asked whether education

gun a longer distance than

the others or

aim

better than them.

Kahinga had returned from Nairobi with He replies of my letter to the Governor, signed as I had requested. had interviewed Mathenge and they were planning to continue

On

the other hand,

Kenya Parliament help. news, the Kenya Parliament held

the negotiation with or without the Filled with this disgusting

a

on 26th March in which a resolution was passed that Mathenge and all the Kenya Riigi leaders must be disciplined, their own firstly by showing them that they have no powers of other than the powers granted by the Kenya Parliament. Secondly, punthey must be shown all their mistakes and, where necessary, our ished for intentionally wrecking our fight and misleading session

—which

could turn out to be on the betrayal of the revolution. Thirdly, they must be instructed rules the right way to approach the Government, our supporters, itungati for their personal ambition

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

472 and

policies. All

liament.

complaints must be brought to the

They had

his

The

own

was both the eyes and the over Kenya. We could not let anyone act

all

outside the Parliament’s organization.

resolution said that arrest warrants [were to] be issued to

twenty-one leaders, including Mathenge, Kahinga and his

The Kenya Parliament

styled delegates to Nairobi.

warrants to (i)

all

self-

issued arrest

had to have his

these persons under the procedure that each

surrender his arms,

hands

Par-

to realize that K.P.

voice of our fighters

on

Kenya

(2)

tied together, (4)

be inspected by the guards,

be brought in guarded, and

(3) (5)

bring

all

camp record books. If any ran away or refused, he was to be shot. The warrants were signed by Kimathi and I. Meanwhile, the Kenya Parliament organized itself into a Britishtype court in which Ndiritu Thuita acted as the Head of Police and the Chief Prosecutor. Macaria Kimemia was the Chief Judge, their

helped by an advisory committee; Kihara Gatandi and

I

were the

recorders of the cases and four

Abdullah became the the Commissioner of Prisons.

jurors.

members were appointed to become Minister of War and Vindo became

Kahinga and informed him that the Kenya Parliament was holding a session and was anxiously awaiting to hear his reports from Nairobi. I reminded him to bring with him all his recorded documents and that the Parliament wished to see I

drafted a letter to

the other delegates.

Having supplied our guards with sufficient arrest warrants, they left early morning on the 27th March. During the day the Commissioner of Prisons, Major-General Vindo, built his prison camp one hundred yards away across a swampy stream southwest of the main camp. At the same time the Parliament prepared charge sheets for every accused leader listing all his offences.

At midday, Kahinga and his companions arrived. He told the Parliament how he met the Government messengers and how he went to Nairobi to confirm to the Government that the forest fighters were preparing to send representatives who would negotiate

with the Government.

He

said that he

met and talked with Mr. Windley, who represented the Governor, Gen. Heyman, who represented Gen. Erskine, and B. A. Ohanga, African Minister of

Community Development. Asked whether their speeches were recorded he replied that Kahono Githii, pointing at him, had

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION recorded

their speeches.

all

He was

473

asked to hand over

all

the

books to me.

Opening Kahinga’s satchel, I found two new big size Challenge duplicate books and copies of a photograph in which Kahinga and his party were photoed together with the Government representatives.

When

asked to mention the points they had agreed on, he said that they had not agreed on any points but that their talk was a

form of interrogation in which they asked him many different questions. Asked who had sent him to Nairobi, he replied that his going to Nairobi was the result of his talks with Ian Henderson, who complained that his messengers had lost one and a half months in Nyandarua and that not even one leader had gone to see him and that he was finding it difficult to convince the Government that he was doing something to make the negotiation a success. Reading from Kahinga’s documents, we learned that he had deceived the Government that he was the elected representative of the fighters.

The

questions

Wind ley: Why do you

and answers were well recorded

live in

:

the forest?

Kahinga: Because your forces chased us from the reserve. Heyman: Why then haven’t you accepted our amnesty offer? Kahinga: Because we think it is a trap and moreover you haven’t promised us land and freedom in that

offer.

Windley: There cannot be such a thing as freedom while you continue to fight. If you stopped fighting there would be time to discuss freedom. Kahinga: We are fighting for land and freedom and if you grant

them

the

war would be

over.

you are not given land and freedom, would you accept His Excellency’s amnesty offer? Kahinga: We are going to consider it because we do not want Windley:

If

to live in the forest,

Ohanga:

we

are only forced

to.

Why

do you keep such long shaggy hairs? Kahinga: Because we do not have any means of shaving. You can see that we have grown weak in body because of lack of food and bad weather. (Kahinga expressed how ashamed he felt for

being very

dirty.)

Ohanga: The Colonial Government has already shown willing to grant

you freedom

in

that

it is

a multiracial Government.

— MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

474

Why

should you continue your fight while the Government

has met your demands?

Kahinga: We are going to consider your request, but land and freedom would be the answer.

Though

there were other good points of

Kahinga

in the negotia-

above answers and his activities were sufficient offences which caused his remand awaiting to answer his case. Then Gen. Ndiritu Thuita called the guards, inspected Kahinga tion, the

and

comrades, and took them to our prison awaiting for their cases to be heard after perusing all their documents. By the evenhis

our itungati returned safely bringing all the persons on the arrest warrant list. Mathenge had surrendered his automatic pistol ing, all

but our itungati had accepted his request not to

Three armed

tie his

hands.

were to guard the prisoners for three hour periods all the time. During the night the prisoners’ hands had to be tied together, but untied during the day. On 28th March, we spent most of the time studying Kahinga’s, Mathenge’s and the sentries

From Mathenge’s books, which were Ndung’u Mathenge, we learned of the forma-

other leaders’ record books. written by his clerk tion of the

Kenya Kenya

and

Riigi

—whose

main task was to Parliament. Another resolution was passed exoppose the tending arrest warrants to 20 more officers of the Kenya Riigi who were living in the Moorlands, Kipipiri and Subuk, mostly Mburu Ngebo Army fighters from Murang’a under Mbaria Kaniu.

On

the 29th our itungati

its

left

officers

to arrest the

them

Riigi officers in

We

the Moorlands and Kipipiri Mt. light cases of junior officers.

Kenya

We

decided to start hearing the heard three cases and released

under their promises to obey and cooperate with the Kenya Parliament. The itungati who were being led by the captured leaders had arrived to witness what would happen to their leaders. Kimathi addressed them, warning them that all fighters were under Kenya Parliament and there was not any other organization to lead the fighters. He promised them that nothing bad would happen to their leaders apart from finding our in

differences

the

evening,

free

and strengthening our

unity, cooperation

to the

and obedience the itungati to obey

the

Later, those itungati

Kenya Parliament. He appealed to all Kenya Parliament, to which they agreed.

were

to be posted to

guard their

food in the reserve for the

Kenya

leaders,

and were

Parliament.

sent to fetch

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

475

On March

30th three more cases were heard. All were released, two being fined 25s. each and the third one set free. Our itungati returned from Kipipiri with eight arrestments [i.e., prisoners]. They reported that the others had fled away on seeing them and believed

must have had some information about the

that they

arrest of

their comrades.

wrote a

Mr. Henderson, signed by Kimathi, telling the Government that our representatives would be meeting the Government’s in a week’s time. On 31st March, we heard six cases and passed no judgement. I

I

letter to

generally visited the prisoners in the mornings and evenings,

asked them their complaints, encouraged them to have no fear over the Parliament’s motives, told them our intentions were only unity, cooperation and obedience to the Kenya Parliament. In the evening our itungati returned, having failed to meet Mr.

Henderson at Chinga road. and shouting at four o’clock run away I

!’

I

was awakened by a

in the

morning.

bullet’s

thunder

‘All the prisoners

have

cried the guards.

ordered a

girl in

the officers’ kitchin to

make me a bamboo

With the light of my torch I walked a hundred yards to the prison camp. Kimathi and the other officers had arrived a couple torch.

of minutes before me. ‘Any casualties?’ asked Kimathi.

‘We have only one prisoner left?’ said the guard. ‘He awoke me when he pulled my gun. I firmly held my gun and he badly bit my fingers

—and

1

fired for help, scaring the other

two prisoners who

were the last to leave.’ ‘So you were asleep when they escaped?’ shouted Kimathi. ‘Yes Sir,’ replied the guard, ‘but the other two guards were awake. We had arranged that one of us could sleep while the others were on guard and ‘Where are the other two guards who were on duty?’ demanded Kimathi. ‘I think they must have escaped with the prisoners for they were .’

.

.

the prisoners’ itungati ,’ said the guard. ‘Instead of guarding the prisoners,

they untied them and have run away with the guns

them by the guard commander.’ ‘What are the names of the guards?’ asked Vindo. ‘Samuel Wahihi and Mwangi(?),’ replied the guard.

issued

Waweru

Ngirita, the only prisoner in the

attempt to rob the guard’s gun and

camp, caught

who had

in his

badly bitten the

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

476

guard’s fingers, was strongly held

was appealing ‘Forgive

me

for

mercy

to

of guards

and

Kimathi.

Kimathi. Spare

‘Who poured

down by a group

that blood?’

my life. Ohhh

.

demanded Kimathi.

was trying to release myself, but forgive me ‘Waste no time Kimathi,’ interrupted Macaria Kimemia, ‘order .’

‘I

.

.

the guards to strangle him.’

‘O.K. Guards! Take him away!’ shouted Kimathi, going away.

Waweru

mercy but the guards covered his mouth. By this time hundreds of fighters had arrived at the scene. Without talking to anyone, I slowly walked back to my hut with my heart beating high and very much worried of what was likely to happen. It was now dawn, and the beginning of a declared split among our fighters, which could easily turn to be a real fight between ourcried for

enemy all the chances to defeat us. How shall we contact the Government? Wouldn’t Kahinga and Mathenge send their representatives to negotiate with the Government and then selves, giving the

—

the two delegations,

and possibly a third from Kirinyaga, each independent from the other, would present its different case to the Government? Wouldn’t that reveal our weakness in our organization

—our hatred, ambition

in leadership

and

lack of confidence in

one general leader? Shall we ever be able to cooperate again with the

lost

leaders?

Kimathi came blanket.

He

my hut and found me wrapped in my me that he intended to move from the camp

into

informed

Kahinga may bring the Government forces to the camp accusing us of opposing and preventing the negotiation. ‘On the other hand, Mathenge and his officers, driven by fear and suspicion that we wanted to kill them, may return here well armed for a fight; they may even ambush us just like the enemies. The in case

sooner

we

quit the

camp

the better.’

went for Gen. Gikonyo Kanyungu; he came with me to my hut. Kimathi told him that he was to show us a good place for camping where his itungati could easily take our message to Mr. Henderson. I called the Guard Commander to announce orders. Everybody You must pack all your luggage now. ‘Attention We are leaving the camp by sunrise !’ I

!

!

1955 we dispersed. The itungati who had helped their leaders to escape were already gone. The others returned to their camps. The K.P. and its forces followed Gikonyo’s itungati IDA April

1

st

,

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

477 where we

4/1, climbing due west on a ridgeway to Muthuri Hill stopped for a rest. We sent a dozen itungati to shoot elephants for food.

By midday we had

arrived at Gikonyo’s old

camp

at Itwe

and

our itungati were busy building new huts. At two o’clock our gunning team brought news that they had killed one big elephant and that it had fallen about a mile east of the camp. I accompanied over 150 itungati who rushed out to carry meat. At first I

was surprised to see Murang’a fighters eating raw marrow just as one chews a piece of sugar cane. Later on that evening I joined them in chewing the elephants raw marrow fat obtained in the bones. 1 he

Our

IDA

4/

intentions

1

quartermaster stored the eight-foot ivory

now were

tusks.

Government through Mr. Henderson, and to find out where the runaway leaders had encamped and their motives. If they had run away on fear of punishment that might be inflicted on them we would then be able to seek their confidence by getting only a few of them at a time, instruct and warn and release them and prove that we did not want to kill any of them and that a split would be our defeat. On the other hand, anyone who refused to accept that friendship offer and really stood for opposition to the Kenya Parliament leadership would be charged and tried as a traitor on all accounts and unless he changed he would meet his death. The following day we sent our itungati to take the letter to to contact the

Henderson. They returned in the evening, having failed again to meet him. 7 hey said that Land Rover trails indicated that he had

come on

the previous day.

We

sent out

two other groups, one

to

Gitonga’s and Wacira’s sections, led by assistant section leaders

Kiongo and Wanjeru Gatandi’s section.

Kibiri.

They were

The second group was to find out

sent to

Kihara

what the runaway

leaders

were doing.

The

following morning, Kiongo and Wanjeru returned badly

beaten and deprived of one

rifle

by

their

Mathenge’s command. Their good luck was

away

in

the darkness.

Some

own

their success to run

shots fired after

them. They had swollen bruises

all

itungati under

over their

them had missed bodies. They had

spent a cold, hungry and painful night.

was now certain that Mathenge and his supporters had classified the Kenya Parliament and its supporters as enemies. The Kenya Parliament would do all it could to see that these people It

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

478

Mathenge and company were preaching to their itungati that the Kenya Parliament had sentenced all of them to death, but that a girl who was working in the Parliament’s kitchen foretold them and saved their lives. Among our fighters was Wambui Mathenge’s girl who was obeyed.

Wanjeru

told

us

that

—

—

Wacira Gathuku. Since Mathenge’s arrest Wambui had been working in the Parliament’s kitchen. She had confirmed her loyalty was not to a person but to the Movement. [Wanjeru’s comment] caused Wambui, the only suspect, to be interrogated. But there was no proof to the story. It was an invented story to justify their case and escape. Since the beginning of our fight we had never had a prison, simply because we could not afford to feed and guard the enemies and worse still, they could be freed by their forces or manage to escape. We had kept Mathenge and company in our first prison for five nights, feeding and guarding them simply because they were not our enemies but our disobedient fighters who only deserved discipline and instruction. To our sorrow, they had identified themselves as enemies. But this had to be taken as an individual case regarding the leaders and not as a group case including the itungati who were being misled. We did not want to fight against a group but we had to fight against a person who misled

now

our

to stay with

fighters.

We asking

wrote another

him

to

change

to negotiate with the

Mr. Henderson, signed by Kimathi, rendezvous to Kabage road if he wanted

letter to

his

Kenya

Parliament.

The

letter directed

him

where he should post the reply in a tree trunk hole of a big tree by the roadside. We instructed him that we would collect his message there. We warned him that the Kenya Parliament had disassociated with Kahinga s negotiation because he had elected himself and was deceiving the Government. We concluded that the Government could communicate to the Kenya Parliament by any means in North Tetu area-north of the River Chania.

We

instructed our messengers to plant the letter in the middle of the road hanging on a thin bamboo stick a few yards below the meeting place. Our messengers returned reporting that they had planted the letter. Gathuru Muita had twice been appointed as the spokesman of our messengers in case they were to be interrogated

by Mr. Henderson.

On

the 8th of April the Parliament

and

its

guards

left

Gikonyo’s

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

479

and arrived at Ndiritu Thuita’s mbuci at Mutanga Riua Hill facing Chania slopes. The court heard two cases of komerera leaders. They were both sentenced to be caned 20 and 25 canes [i.e., strokes] and promised good conduct onwards. On 15th April, the court moved to Chieni. Our messengers had itungati

not received any response from the Government on behalf of the

We

negotiation.

sent a

copy of that

time the letter would be taken to the village in

bamboo by our

Government; this and would be stuck

letter to the

supporters just inside a

Home Guard

post.

At Chieni the court heard a dozen cases of the komerera leaders, among which one of them was sentenced to death after admitting that he had administered a strange oath to some itungati compelling them to abandon their leaders and never again to serve any leader who did not participate in fetching food and firewood, building his hut and carrying his Inside the

Kenya Young

He was

fighters.

Fourteen of

own

luggage.

Stars Hall,

I

read his case to over 400

caught leading four others

his itungati

had been

in

killed in his

witnessed by the survivors to have been built

the settled area.

mbuci which was about 400 yards

from a settler’s house. I asked him to confess before the fighters, after which the Chief Judge Macaria Kimemia announced his death sentence, asking him whether it was fair according to what he had done in undermining leaders and wrecking the revolution.

The accused spoke

bravely, accepting his sentence as being

Kimathi ordered the guards

camp

in the bush.

to receive a

The

fair.

him far away from the one and ordered the others

to strangle

court released

dozen canes.

the hall after the last accused had received the canes. Later in the afternoon the guards reported that the sentences

The

court

had been

left

fulfilled.

That afternoon Kimathi

called

of the three remaining accused komerera leaders

on Joseph, one

and

started inter-

Kimathi, Kimemia and three itungati left for a stroll with Joseph. When Kimathi returned in the evening he told us that he had saved us a day or two of hearing Joseph s case. He said that he had heard the case within five minutes, after rogating

him

in his hut.

which he took his pistol and ordered Joseph to lead the twentyone dead itungati who had died in his mbuci. Joseph, a komerera leader of the Mburu Ngebo Army, was arrested in the settled area leading two almost naked itungati of IDA 3/3. One of them, Maina, was to become my books carrier.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

480 They

told us that

whenever Joseph went out with some three others

attempt to look for food, he always returned alone to the mbuci saying that he was the only survivor. He would then enter

in their ,

Nyandarua and persuade back to

his

more

three or four

itungati, taking

them

mbuci.

Nevertheless, though Joseph might have been proven guilty by

was a bad report to hear that Kimathi’s hands killed him before he was tried. The propaganda based on that incident would increase hatred, enmity and proofs to the runaway leaders. Kimathi’s action would definitely be interpreted as Parliament’s action, for Kimathi generally acted for the Parliament but this was wrong. 1 did not want to share Kimathi’s blame. That night, filled the court,

it

—

with a

convinced half the members of the Parliament that we should have a by-law which controls the powers and lot of grief, I

actions of our President.

would be very

‘It

him

in

bad,’

I

said,

we became

his wall to protect

such actions of personal killing which would only increase

hatred and enmity

among

ourselves.

dent to dictate the Parliament out to be a dictator.

which

of

‘if

I

am

such by-laws

in

We

such a

shouldn’t allow the Presi-

way

for he can easily turn

He

should accept our advice and criticisms, sure that he does not appreciate. If we do not have

we may

find ourselves increasing

enmity with other fighters, and worst of all it is a sign of weakness in our leadership; in other words, there would be no Parliament, but Kimathi would be the Parliament a dictator.’ Having convinced half of the 22 members [present], we arranged to put forward the following motions: (1) The President should

—

accept both the advice and criticism resolved by the majority of members in either a session or in private discussions K. Njama.

—by

President’s powers

and

on behalf of the Parliament should be limited and defined by our written laws and rules by Major Gen. Ndiritu Thuita. (3) Ministerial posts should be created and be granted to various members so that each would be certain of his job and stick to it by Maj. Gen. Vindo. (2)

activities

—

—

In our discussion over the

two motions, Kimathi became very angry and twice banged the table, left his chair and walked out, he shouted, complaining of being insulted and betrayed by his

members—chiefly

We ballots,

first

myself. Nevertheless,

we

passed both motions.

then resolved to grant Ministerial Posts and, after casting

we found

that

I

was elected

to be Minister of

War. The

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION result hurt

He

Kimathi.

did not want

me

481

to take that post.

He

left

and stood in the center of the meeting to address us. In his argument he claimed that the Parliament could not get a person of my standard in the secretaryship, which he thought to be of more value than the Ministry the Parliament had given me. He claimed that the election must be done again, in a few days time. Wacira Gathuku accused Kimathi of being impatient, quick and bad tempered, relating his case to the shooting of Joseph, banging table, throwing pencil, leaving the Presidency chair in anger, and his chair

of his will to dictate the Parliament.

The

discussion only increased

We

Kimathi’s anger.

adjourned for lunch. When we resumed the meeting in the afternoon, Major Gen. Vindo turned to Kimathi’s side and withdrew his motion of ministerial posts. This split the Parliament in debate, Othaya versus North Tetu, and Murang’a as moderator. Kimathi said that he had

how I had conducted a meeting at night in which only he and Kimemia were absent. He accused me of trying to lead and control the Parliament without him. He suggested that a law be made that ‘The Kenya Parliament will never hold any meeting in the absence of the President.’ He said ‘I have all

the information of

:

learned that

I

am

living with enemies within

the

Kenya

Par-

liament.’

With

Kimathi might accuse some of us of betrayal and perhaps have us strangled, his motion was passed with only one vote over a majority. Myself and nine other members failed

threats

to

raise

and

fears that

hands.

Parliament into his and directly against

Any

my

him and

further arguments were to loyalties.

that

split

This would definitely put

would mean venturing

the

me

into great

dangers.

Night came before we had solved anything.

We

dispersed in a

and worry. Fear that Kimathi or his envoy might hurt me kept me awake through the night. When we resumed the following day, we heard the case of two arrested persons. More than half the members showed no interest in the cases and by lunch time both were set free. At this stage, the five Othaya Division members, including myand self, decided that we should return to Othaya, find Mathenge state of confusion

and our itungati and prove our sincerity to them. We didn’t want to be cut off from our people by Kimathi; we wanted to moderate and prevent the split from getting worse. the

runaway

leaders

.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

482

We

Kimathi and informed him that since the Government had not replied our letters, we should all go back to Othaya and find out what Kahinga and Mathenge might be doing about the called

negotiations.

He

We

could easily get in touch with the Government

we

mbuci on 13th May. We found that his itungati had not changed the mbuci nor had they known whereabout the other mbuci were. We sent Gikonyo’s itungati to find out where Mathenge’s and Kahinga’s mbuci were and whether they were still negotiating with there.

agreed and

arrived Gikonyo’s

Government. They returned the following day reporting that they were still negotiating; Kahiu-Itina, Mbaria and the other officers

Kenya Riigi were negotiating with the Government. On 6th May, we sent Gicuki Wacira, a person whom we

of the

1

thought could easily be accepted by them. But on his return, Gicuki told us that he arrived at Mathenge’s mbuci and when one gitungati shouted

that

the

Kenya Parliament had

arrived,

the

whole mbuci dispersed as if it were invaded by enemies. Being very disappointed by recent events, Kimathi and the twelve Gikuyu Iregi Army members of the Kenya Parliament left

Murang’a on 18th May 1955. The five of us Othaya Parliament members decided to correspond to Mathenge through for

Gikonyo’s itungati until

we could

Though we believed that the Parliament had the best leadership, we repented for having unknowingly created such hatred with our own people. On 20th May we sent two itungati to Mathenge to take him a clear their fears.

him to arrange that the five of us would meet all other leaders and discuss our differences. About two in the

letter requesting

the

afternoon, a big airplane flew around the mountain dropping more general amnesty offer copies and sky-shouting ‘Today your leaders :

have ended the negotation with the Government. The on. Surrender now with all your arms and save your

fight life

is

to

go

.

In the evening our messengers returned saying that they only found many deserted camps.

On

22nd May, the enemy forces were two miles from our camp following Kahinga’s and Mbaria’s track, who had been seen by our sentries passing by our camp on their way to Kinangop. By midday the Government forces were less than a mile from the camp. Gikonyo and I and his 82 itungati carried some of our belongings and left the camp moving due west then turning south to

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION the source of North

Mathioya River where we encamped

483 for the

night.

The

we

following afternoon

dropping food

learned that the airplanes were

to their troops very

near

us.

We

moved due

east,

camps and intending to go to the forest edge where the enemies were certain that they had chased away all the fighters. We unknowingly encamped near the enemy, but we were passing the enemy’s

lucky that they did not notice elephant’s

meat and decided

us.

to split

We up

finished our last bite of

into small groups to enable

us to hide our tracks.

As we dispersed in groups of fifteen or so on the morning of the 24th, two of our groups were fired at. We escaped very narrowly. 5

We

decided to go to the dry

bamboo area where we

could see the

—

There were eleven of us four K.P. members (Gitonga, Kihara, Wacira and I), three section leaders (Gicuki, Wanjeru and Kiongo), and four itungati including Wambui. Being afraid that the forces would see us moving, we spent a day and a night with neither fire nor food. The long heavy rain was still

enemy

at long distance.

pouring. Just as

seen us

we were

able to detect the enemy’s camps, the

and awoke us with

comrades,

I

lost

my

their fire at sunrise. Like

tent, blankets

and

shoes.

We

enemy had

many

of

my

ran eastwards

H.Q. arriving at a Government force empty camp. Thinking that we had passed all enemy troops, we rested a few hundred yards from their camp and kept watching it. At two in the afternoon another enemy group arrived in their camp. We quickly entered the black forest and by 4 P m we were in Kariaini old gardens. Here the forces’ tracks seemed three or four days old. The footpaths made by Mathenge’s itungati leading to their mbuci were very big. It seemed that three months without being chased by the enemy forces had caused them to forget to hide their tracks. We passed many of their abandoned camps. We collected some wild vegetables in the gardens enabling us to have to Kariaini Forest behind the

-

three bites for the night.

The following day we crossed the River Thuti and looked for any camp on its slopes. Seeing no trace of our people, we decided to that cross the Kariaini road due north. On our arrival we found Government

forces

were

still

entering the forest.

We

paused and

twenty-one of them passed only thirty yards from us. Before we had had all crossed, another group arrived passing between us. We

484 many rifles,

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN chances of attacking, but

how

could

we do

it

with only two

a banda, and ten rounds of ammunition.

When

we’d

all

crossed,

we decided

not to

order to avoid collision with the enemy.

We

move any

further in

spent the day

less

than

400 yards from the road and less than a mile from the forest boundary. By 5 p.m. our sentry reported that over 800 army personnels

Knowing that the Government forces were now resting in their camps we walked about two miles and looked for a place to encamp. At 6 p.m. we sent two itungati and two junior

had

left

the forest.

leaders into the reserve to search food for our

group of eleven

persons.

They returned

at 7 130 p.m. reporting that there

were very many

ambushing all along the forest border. We spent the fourth night without any food. How could three itungati be able security forces

to carry food

for eight

leaders including a girl?

Surely some

had to serve others according to their order of ranks. In the morning we moved for a better camp knowing that our comrades, who returned to the camp at night, had left a track leading to our camp. Arriving at Thiathiini forest gardens we spent the day and in the evening the same four persons left for food in the reserve. 4 hat night we at marerema a type of wild vegetable. leaders

,

Our men

returned the following morning, 28th May, with some vegetables, a few bananas, potatoes and some arrowroots. group had lasted three days on under quarter-rations and the last five

My

days with no food at ate

enough that

days.

On

reserve

31st

and

We were all glad of something to eat We went on half ration for the next

all.

night.

and two

May we

sent five persons to search food in the they returned on the 1st June with the same kind of

food.

remembered my plans of escaping to Ethiopia and rediscussed them with my comrades and found that conditions were now forcing us to leave the mountain. We resolved that Kihara Gatandi should take 50s. to his wife who would buy the maize and safari food for us which would enable us to cross the enemy area of the Rift Valley and enter the Northern Frontier Province and make I

our

way through

the semi-desert west of the

Lake Rudolph. Gen. Kihara Gatandi, Gen. Gitonga Gaciingu (both members of Parliament) and Maina, my books carrier, left for the reserve on

the evening of 3rd June.

gave Kihara my watch so that they would be able to check the time of security forces maintaining I

— CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

485

The following day I became worried about my books, not know where Maina had hidden them. In the evening,

ambushes. for

did

I

Wacira, Gicuki and

I

spent some time vainly searching for

my

books.

On

5th June, after morning prayers,

I

informed

my

comrades

our people in the reserve did not arrive before midday they should have been back by 7 a.m. we had to desert the camp. I warned them not to hide our belongings but stay with them ready I had to go at any time. I told Wacira and Gicuki my dream that

if

—

—

dreamed that we were crossing the Nyeri-Thomson’s Falls road in an open grassland area when we collided with a police lorry and we were all held captives. A Mkamba Sergeant Major who led the troop was my school mate and he stopped the others from mistreating us. They gave us bread and tinned beef and when the lorry started moving toward Nyeri I woke up. At 7 o’clock we continued an hour’s search for my books. We concluded that if our men didn’t turn up by midday, they must be captured and the books were lost and we had to leave the camp one of them brought the Government forces to our mbuci. The three of us returned to the camp and found that the five others had gone to warm themselves by the sun some 100 yards in case

an old cleared garden. We crept along our path through tangled thicket bush extending some 30 yards, after which we arrived at the cleared area. It was already nine in the morning

from the camp

in

stopped to catch the warm told Gicuki to go and check the guards and make

and the sun was shining rays of the sun.

I

brightly.

We

certain they were properly posted.

muthegi and Wacira Gathuku on his walking stick, both puzzled and worried about what had happened able to our people. I heard a [twig] crack and bent in order to be creeping, to observe our path. Twenty yards from me I saw Maina telling holding his gun. He saw me too. I was glad and stood I

stood leaning on

my

Wacira that our people had arrived. Bending again I noticed another gun and informed Wacira. They were still approaching us in the tangled thicket bush. When a Maina was less than ten yards from me I noticed the face of European and shouted to Wacira, ‘There’s a European!’ Turning Before I could move a bullet had entered my ankle.

away

another bullet caught me, cutting threetendons behind the ankle. Running amidst hundreds

in order to escape,

quarters of

my

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

486

of automatic bullets, I fell

some eighty yards away being caught by

on me. Now, out of the enemy’s sight, but their bullets only missing us narrowly, we struggled through a strawberry bush and managed to enter the black forest where one could easily run. I saw Wacira running due northwest and our people disappearing to the north. I ran to follow them, crossing a stream and a bush. Wacira

climbing

its

fell

slope.

found that some people had passed along it entering the forest. I followed their path thinking it to be our comrades’ path but soon found that it was the enemy’s track. A blood trail was clear behind my path. I was in danger of being followed by the enemy. I descended half way down a stream’s slope Arriving at a ridge-way,

I

and decided to stay there till evening, then to make my way to Kigumo where I would look for any camp. Looking at my wounds, I learned that one bullet had passed

my tendons behind the left ankle; the other bullet was still in my ankle and had cut the artery causing my blood to jet out as my heart strongly pumped I tore my vest to make bandages and a pad which I used to press through, cutting about three-quarters of

it.

the artery in order to stop the bleeding.

thankful for having learned

first

aid as a

I lit

Boy

kiraiko

and smoked,

Scout.

—

Many

thoughts flashed at the top of my head sorrow for Kihara and Gitonga, anger at Maina’s betrayal; why had God given the

enemy power

to injure

me? Could my

survival be God’s

warning? How shall the bullet in me be removed? And what about the broken bones? Shall I ever manage to go to Ethiopia? Should I surrender? I should first search any of our mbuci for at least three days.

Oh

had

so

tightly

the artery

my

had become paralysed. I untied and tied it again but it did not get any better. At about three in the afternoon I noticed a Government troop about 100 yards from me moving along the stream toward the reserve. I crept slowly, ascending, and to my surprise another enemy troop about fifty yards ahead was walking toward the reserve. I lay down and prayed Ngai save me. I raised my head a little to watch their movement. Thank God they passed without !

I

tied

foot

seeing me.

At about four o clock, another Government troop arrived down the stream and started cutting trees and preparing their camp just below me. I walked up to the ridge path, and started moving

:

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

487

toward the reserve, intending to go to the forest boundary and watch the enemies’ ambushes in the evening. I would then walk at night in the Special Area and enter the forest again at along

it

Kigumo where

I

knew

I

was

likely to find

our

fighters.

Walking through bushes in the path, I suddenly met two Home Guards who came in sight only a few yards from me. Instead of running away I greeted them with Muriega ,’ (Hello) and, to my surprise, they answered my greetings in a startled way Ei, muriega is that you Karari Njama?’ ‘I am Karari, and I know you Gathithi s/o Ndarathi and Ndiritu ‘

l

:

,

s/o Mbai.’ ‘Are you injured?’ asked Gathithi. ‘Yes,’

happened

showing him the morning.

said,

I

in

my wound

and

him to the camp,’ said Ndiritu. He would be killed right here

telling

how

it

had

‘Let us take

‘Oh no

!

in

the

forest,’

said

Gathithi.

‘Then we’d better hurry up. We have one and a half miles walk to Gitugi Village,’ said Ndiritu. I paused, unable to walk or comment. ‘Don’t worry Karari,’ said Gathithi, ‘you are safe; blessed you.

The Governor

God

to

has

has forgiven everybody.’

My

day had come, I thought, and I preferred to die in the village where many people would witness my death rather than there in the forest, unwitnessed by a fighter or by any of our supporters.

After Karari ’s capture conditions in the forest continued to deteriorate. As militant resistance in the reserve and Nairobi was

became increasingly isolated from outside contact and supplies, more and more forest groups began to live entirely on honey, edible nettles and the rewards of the their traps and snares or move into small wooded areas of Thus, Rift Valley where food raids were easier to carry out. that another of my informants, Kahinga Wachanga, has stated

broken and the Aberdare

fighters

to In September, myself and a few other fighters were able small clump live for a whole month without being noticed in a

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

488

house and 400 yards from a military camp. We got water from a tiny stream which ran through the woods and we raided settler farms at night for animals and wheat. After a raid we started off toward the forest,

of trees about 200 yards

walking a long

ment

way

from a

settler’s

before returning to our mbuci.

patrols sent out the next

The Govern-

morning followed our

tracks,

but

were misled by the fact that we returned to the forest walking backwards. The area between the forest and the Kipipiri Hills was very flat and our scouts, climbing high up in the trees, could see for miles around. We were often amused watching the security forces go by into the forest; they never believed we would set up our mbuci so close. It

was during

this

period that Government increased

its

use

and ‘converted’ fighters in what were called pseudo gangs. A Special Forces H.Q. was set up in Nyeri where teams of ex-fighters were formed under Europeans. Subjected to various forms of persuasion, and often unexpectedly happy to have their own lives spared, a number of ex-forest fighters thus lent themselves to Government’s efforts to track down and destroy their former comrades. To a considerable extent, these psuedo gangs both reflected and exacerbated the hostilities between forest-group leaders. The conflict between Kenya Riigi and Kenya Parliament leaders was exploited, at first inadvertently, by the Special Branch. Some of the Kenya Riigi supporters, such as Gati and Hungu of the Mburu Ngebo Army, found it relatively easy to assist Ian Henderson in his Hunt for Kimathi in exchange for their lives. of surrenderees or captured

’

‘

Though

the

number

was never very

of ex-fighters used in these psuedo gangs

large, reaching

a

maximum

90 by June 1956, their presence in the forest greatly increased the suspicion and hostility already existing between opposing leaders and groups. The Kenya Riigi, which had emerged at the onset of the negotiations with Government and was to a large extent sustained by of

participation in these talks, ceased to function soon after the negotiations broke down. At its last meeting in June 1955, the leaders decided to remain on the Rift Valley side of the range

its

where food was more easily obtained and some of the pressure removed from their people in the reserve. They also agreed that surrender was an individual matter and that those who feared

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

489

skambas could return to the reserve if they wanted. Government had earlier proclaimed that all fighters who failed to surrender before the termination of the amnesty offer on 10 July would forfeit their land in the reserve. At this final meeting of the Kenya Riigi, no resolutions were passed regarding future losing their

policy or military tactics.

By

the time fighting was resumed, most of the sections and

sub-sections attached to the

Kenya

Riigi

were scattered

in the

and Nderagwa regions of the forest. In September, according to Kahinga Wachanga, the Kipipiri groups under Mbaria Kaniu decided to leave the Aberdares and try to make their way out of Kenya. Some are said to have succeeded in reaching Ethiopia or the Sudan. Mathenge also disappeared at this time and is the only major forest leader still unaccounted for. By the end of 1955, then, those groups formerly integrated by the Kenya Riigi retained only a loose, informal relationship to one another. The highest level of leadership at this time was reduced to the section leader, who led his own unit and one or two attached sub-sections. North Kinangop, Kipipiri

Hills

The Kenya Parliament also failed to survive 1955. Just prior to Karari’s capture, as we have seen, new conflicts emerged within the Parliament leadership which resulted in a further

As Kimathi left with his supporters for Fort Hall, the five Othaya members, including Karari, decided to rejoin Mathenge and seek a reconciliation. Three of the latter were captured in June and before the end of the year several other Kenya Parliament members had fallen and only about 1,500 fighters remained in the Aberdare Range. While Kimathi remained as the leader of several strong North Tetu sections, and was not captured until October of 1956 whereupon he was tried and hanged the Kenya Parliament failed to meet again after July split.

—

—

1955 and, with the dispersal of those forest groups which remained at the end of the year, leadership was reduced to the level of section leader.

As the

central forest institution

first split

and then

collapsed,

and legitimized by this institution cease to possess any meaning. With the loose military chain-of-command broken and the hierarchy of committees inoperative, forest leaders tended, despite their former positions, to assume more or less equal statuses as the so likewise did the hierarchy of ranks

and

statuses created

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

490

leaders of their respective sections. Power, in the sense of the

number and strength of fighters under their command, had become the sole remaining basis of legitimacy and respect. In the

with no legitimate institutions existing beyond the section and sub-section heads, there ceased to exist any coordination between the various individual sections. No longer functioning as parts of a larger network of guerrilla units, and considerably reduced in both size and strength, forest groups sought various and independent solutions to the situations latter part of 1955,

they faced.

Some

chose to surrender, others to

flee

the forest or

colony and, perhaps the majority, to remain in the Aberdares. The latter groups, no longer capable of offensive action beyond the occasional raid for food, lived almost entirely off of the forest.

They developed

great

skins for clothing

gangs and other

skills

in trapping forest

and avoiding

detection.

utilizing the

Fearful of psuedo

tended to remain within within which, however, they

hostile groups, they

circumscribed areas of the

forest,

were forced to be extremely mobile. elaborate,

game,

often consisting of

Camps became

little

less

more than a few

and

less

lean-to

shelters.

Under complex

these circumstances, division of labor

and

it is

not surprising that the rather

differentiation of statuses

and

roles

achieved earlier was greatly reduced and simplified. For the most part, the only status distinction made was between leader and

and the various

honey collecting, cooking, standing guard, etc., were shared by all with no clear-cut division of labor. As no hope remained for a military victory and concern was centered more and more exclusively on mere survival, the role of the mundo mugo took on increasing importance. The dreams and prophesies of the seers became the sole remaining basis for hope among those of the forest who survived followers,

1955

tasks of trapping,

-

Accompanying the

collapse of the

Kenya Parliament and

the

general organizational breakdown which occurred during 1955, there was a disintegration and cessation of those associations and activities

—such

as the

Kenya Young

Stars

and the Kenyalekalo

Memorial Hall ceremonies—which had previously operated to reinforce Kenya and Kikuyu national sentiments and tribal unity by cutting across the more parochial and territorially based loyalties of the various forest groupings. As hostile relations developed

:

CLEAVAGE AND DISINTEGRATION

49 1

between competing forest leaders and groups, and were intensified by a lack of inter-group contact and the activities of Government pseudo gangs, tribal sentiments and the Kikuyu national aspect of forest ideology tended to be displaced by considerably narrower loyalties to individual leaders and sections, and by a growing belief and feeling of betrayal by other forest groups, the Kikuyu peasant masses which had abandoned them and the non-Kikuyu tribes which had sided with Government. Both the Kenya African and the Kikuyu tribal aspects of nationalist ideology, then, tended to wither and, with forest conditions steadily deteriorating success gone, greater

this

rational

means

of military

was laid on the hoped for Ngai. Thus, Kahinga Wachanga states of

and greater

divine intervention of

and

stress

period that .

.

.

we prayed

continually that Ngai would intervene on our

behalf and repeated over and over again the old saying ‘Justice must be sought first with gentle hands and only then by force; :

when both fail it remains only to pray Ngai’s assistance.’ The ‘We pray you Ngai, prayers we were saying went like this please rid us of our enemies. You are our only defender, we have no other. The whites came and took the land left us by the man Iregi. We ask you now to remove them, as there is nothing more we can do. This is the time they should go, for they are killing :

them and working them we to death. The whites rejoice when our people die and so beg you to come to our aid. The whole of Kenya is full of tears, shed by those who wonder when their freedom will arrive. innocent

women and

children; starving

The growing concern with

survival as such,

and the

felt

neces-

ideofor divine intervention, tended to override all other Disintegration logical dimensions and practical considerations. sity

and defeat had,

for the

most

part, destroyed the collective

and

positive tenets of the old forest ideology.

Around the beginning of 1956, the revolution popularly known which remained as ‘Mau Mau’ came to an end. The forest groups

were no longer part of an largely organized, active revolutionary movement. As small, by Governisolated, poorly armed groups, constantly harassed in the Aberdares

ment tastic

after this time

bands of 1956, having developed a fanstaying expertise of the forest, were concerned only with

forces, the forest

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

492

Their numbers steadily decreasing, these remnant gangs of the once proud and hopeful Land and Freedom Army were, in 1956, simply endeavoring to conceal and protect themselves alive.

from the

forces of ‘law

and

order’ they

had

earlier confronted

with considerable success.

The

revolt of the

Kikuyu peasantry

Though

lasted for

more than three observers would

defeated militarily, few objective deny that there was more than mere coincidence in the fact that the official end of the State of Emergency in January i960 occurred while British colonial officials at the Lancaster House years.

Conference were agreeing to an African majority in the Kenya Legislative Council and eventual independence for Kenya under African rule. The lowering of the Union Jack in Kenya on 12 December, 1963 was unquestionably the culmination of political forces set in

called

‘Mau Mau’.

motion by the 1953-56 peasant revolution

GLOSSARY Aanake

— Senior

warriors

in

the

traditional

Kikuyu age-grade

system.

—Tenants of an or Athamaki— The lowest sub-grade of senior Ahoi

a.

it

became

eligible

when

his first child

elders, for

was ready

which a

man

for circumcision.

—The Kikuyu term for trappers and hunters. Banda — Forest guerrilla terminology for home-made guns. Batuni Oath —Also known the ‘Warrior Oath’ and the ‘Platoon Athi

forest

as

Oath’. This second oath was originally designed for those males

who were

about to enter fighting units attached to the

elders’

councils.

Bebeta or

—Derived from the Swahili term pepeta, meaning

sift; it

was the

forest

to

winnow

term for Sten gun.

—A drug highly prized by the Somali. Bururi— ‘The countryside’; the Bhangi

territorial

scope

of

the

kiama

kinene or kiama kia bururi.

Comba

— Pronounced ‘chomba’; the Kikuyu term

—Yes. Gakenge — A very small ‘sharp Gatheci—

for Europeans.

Eeei

child.

Literally,

Home

instrument’;

it

was a

Guard, derived from the fact that

initially

armed with

spears.

493

term for Guards were

forest

Home

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

494 Gathugo

—

Literally, ‘a

throwing weapon

1

;

forest

term for

Home

Home

Guard,

initially

armed

Guard.

Gatimu

—

Literally,

‘small spear’;

derived from the fact that

term for Guards were

forest

Home

with spears.

Gatua uhoro

—

Literally,

‘the

decider’; forest term for big

game

shooting guns ranging from .375 to .4^0.

Gicakuri

—Singular

of icakuri;

meaning ‘heavy

pitchfork’; forest

term for any Government personnel or European.

Gikonyo

—

‘protruding

Literally,

term for British bombers, derived from the impression conveyed by the open

bomb Gikuyu

navel’;

forest

doors.

—The

mythical founding ancestor of the Kikuyu tribe, along with Mumbi, his wife. Also often used instead of Kikuyu.

—

Gikuyu Gitungati Ngereneva Thingira-ini An unregistered boys’ association at Alliance High School which Karari attended. The name literally means ‘receive reward at the elder’s hut’, and signified Kikuyu servants or the rear guard. It was both political and educational in its aims.

—

Gikuyu Iregi Army Murang’a District warriors under Gen. Macaria Kimemia; called Gikuyu because legend instructs that the Kikuyu tribe originated in Murang’a. Iregi was one of the Kikuyu ruling generations which is believed to have radically revised tribal law;

Gikuyu na

Mumbi

also used for the

Gikuyu na

Mumbi

it

literally

means

‘innovator’ or ‘rejector’.

Mythical founders of the Kikuyu tribe; a term

underground movement by Trinity

Army

—All

its

members.

unorganized Kikuyu

sympathized with and/or aided the guerrilla

who

fighters. ‘Trinity’,

following Catholic theological notions, refers symbolically to the ‘unity of all in one’.

GLOSSARY

495

—A small gourd. Githaka —The land held by a Kikuyu mbari or sub-clan. Githambio —A fermented mixture of and Gitete

millet

employed by a mundo mugo

—Term Gitungati— Singular Gitumbeki

in his purification rituals.

for the kitbag carried

fighters other

form of

than

water;

flour

by

forest fighters.

itungati, used to refer to all forest

officers.

—A large with a two-foot, whip-like Hatha — An edible Hiti— ‘hyena’; used a camp password. Ihei mihitu — term Ithanji—A reed used thatching the of addition containing, Itora —A dispersed Gituyu

forest rat

tail.

nettle.

Literally

as

forest

for warriors.

Literally ‘forest boys’; forest

cia

for

roofs

dwellings.

village traditionally

sub-clan members, a

Ituma

—

First

word

are significant.

‘I’

of

number

in

of attached dependents

and

to

tenants.

Ituma Ndemi Trinity Army, whose

letters

stands for Itungati , ‘Warriors’; ‘T* for North

and South Teu divisions of Nyeri District; ‘U’ for Uthaya sion of Nyeri, and ‘MA’ for the Mathera division of Nyeri.

divi-

—

Army Nyeri District warriors, under General Stanley Mathenge. Ndemi refers to an old Kikuyu ruling generation who were the founders of smith work and hence militarily of great importance. Ndemi literally means ‘arrow-

Ituma Ndemi

(

Trinity )

head’.

Itungati

ltwika

— Warriors

—The

marked the

(see Gitungati).

traditional ‘handing over ceremony’,

accession to

power

which formally

of the junior generation-set

when

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

496

down

the elders of the ‘ruling’ generation decided to step retire

Kaana

from active

or

political life.

—A young boy

still

too small to help in herding the family

old

enough

stock.

—A

Kahi

young

family’s sheep

lad,

and

to help

in

the herding of his

goats.

—Lowest the traditional hierarchy of to the revolution. Kamatimu — Home Guards and other term meaning a Kamwaki— Kanzu —A frock frequently worn by servants. Karai—A metal up’; a term meaning that an Kariiguri—Literally

Kamatimo

elders.

in

traitors

Literally, ‘small fire’;

pistol.

forest

basin.

‘it

forest

is

air-

plane was approaching.

Yenya lnoro Army Waruingi. Inoro,

—Kiambu literally

warriors,

District

a stone used for sharpening knives,

spears, etc., here referring to the fact that the

College, Githunguri, in

the

Kenya

Kenya

under General

Kenya Teachers

Kiambu, was sharpening the brains

of

Africans.

Levellation

Army

—All persons

fighting

on the

side of the

revolution in the reserves. This ‘army’ lacked a central

com-

mand, with outstanding individual leaders emerging in each of the various districts. Levellation was derived from the English Home Guards and other traitors were regarded as stumps ‘level’ ;

in

a

field,

to be levelled or gotten rid of.

Kenya Ng’ombe

—Forest

term for Kenya Regiment personnel; derived from the fact that ng’ombe, meaning cow in Swahili, was the

Kenya Regiment symbol.

Kiama

—A council of

elders.

GLOSSARY Kiama

— ‘Council of the countryside’;

kia bururi

497 another name for

kiama kinene.

Kiama

kia

itora

—Village

wide range of

Kiama ing

council of elders, which performed a

judicial, religious

and

social functions.

—

mwaki A neighborhood council of elders, administera mwaki and comprised of elders representing the lower kia

level village councils.

Kiama

kia rugongo

selected

—A

by the councils over

jurisdiction

which affected the

Kiama

ridge council,

kinene

all

made up

of senior elders

of the constituent neighborhoods; held

religious,

judicial

and

military

matters

entire ridge.

— ‘The

Big Council’; a body of elders which con-

vened whenever matters arose involving two or more rugongo. Its members included representatives of all the involved rugongo and, on certain very special occasions, senior or leading elders representing

all

of the ridges within the territory of a particular

sub-tribe.

—Literally

‘The Council Which Is Searching Freedom’; referred to the Freedom Seeking Council, a name used briefly by the new Nairobi leadership.

Kiama

Kiria Kiracoria Wiathi

Kiambo

—The

name

also the latter’s

of Karari’s grandfather’s spear, which was

nickname.

—A

young boy approaching the age initiation into manhood.

Kihi

of

circumcision and

—

Uiguano na Ngwataniro ya Agikuyu Literally, ‘The Beginning of Unity and Cooperation of the Agikuyu’ an organization of students of which Karari was Vice-President. 1 he initials, KUNA, mean ‘true’. The aim of the organization was to deplore the differences and conflicts among the Christian sects.

Kihumo

kia

;

Kipande

—A combined

identification

African males over 16 years of pain of arrest and imprisonment. all

and employment card which age were obliged to carry on

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

498

—The Kikuyu term Komerera —A term normally Kirinyaga

for

Mount Kenya.

used for persons or criminals in

hiding from the law; especially employed in the forest to refer

men who

wished merely to escape army discipline and avoid clashes with Government forces. A komerera usually spent his to

time hiding in the forest or reserve, occasionally stealing peasant crops and raiding supporters’ stores and shops.

Kuri hono-i ndirara?

A

forest signal to

—

where shall I sleep?’ camp guards signifying that one was not an Literally, ‘It

is

cold,

enemy.

Makar a

—

Literally, ‘charcoal’; a forest

Makumi mana

—Forty

term for ammunition.

shillings.

—A type of wild vegetable. Mataathi— Leaves of the mutaathi Marerema

tree,

used by elders as hand-

kerchiefs.

—News. Man —A Kikuyu

Matemo

Man

colloquial

by the Europeans movement.

larized

—A

Mbari

traditional

as

meaning ‘greedy the

name

Kikuyu sub-clan; the

of

the

eating’;

popu-

revolutionary

largest localized kinship

unit; a landholding group ranging as high as 5,000 persons and comprised of the male descendents of a common ancestor, to-

gether with their wives and dependent children.

Mbuci

—Forest

word

terminology for a camp; derived from the English

‘bush’.

—

Mburu Ngebo Army All Rift Valley fighters, under General Kimbo. Mburu derived from MBUtu cia Ruguru, meant ‘Army of the West or Rift Valley Army’. Mburu was also the name of a Kiambu age-group, and was frequently used in reference to ,

,

GLOS S ARY Dutch

Kenya. Ngebo means ‘level’ and symbolized the ground when fighting so as to avoid the The implication was that this army was to fight

in

settlers

being level to

enemy’s

bullets.

as strongly as the

Kenya

Mbutu

499

Dutch

settlers in

the

Kenya Regiment and

Police Reserve.

—A

forest

term meaning group or fighting

section.

—

Mei Mat hat hi Army Mount Kenya warriors, under General China. Mei was derived from A/e ru, £mbu and /kamba, who made up the majority of Mt. Kenya fighters. Mathathi refers to an ancient ruling generation believed to have discovered red ochre and its use in painting hair, shields, etc. Literally, thathi means red ochre.

—

Mihuni Songs created in 1939-40 by youths which prophesized the coming scarcity of food and property, and the bravery and death of thousands of Kikuyu.

—A

Mikorobothi

Miraa

tree bearing bitter leaves.

—Leaves of a certain

tree

having an intoxicating

effect

when

chewed.

—Kikuyu term ‘homestead’. council. Muciriri— President of an njama or Mugwanja —The Kikuyu term for Muhimu —A code term for The Movement, meaning Mucii

for

judicial

‘seven’.

Most

Important’ in Swahili.

Muiguithania

—The

name

of a vernacular

KCA

newspaper,

meaning ‘the unifier’ and used sometimes underground movement.

ally

liter-

to refer to the

—A wooden sword carved use when dancing the muthuu. the ‘community’; a term used by members Muingi— for

Muiko

of

Literally,

The Movement.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

500 Muirigo

—

Literally, ‘a clear forest path’

knowledge of the

;

used of persons with great

forest.

—A variety of Muma—A term employed Muiri

tree.

referring to the ‘Oath of

by members of the Movement when Unity’, Muma wa Uiguano, and also

movement

frequently used to symbolize the

as a whole.

Muma wa Ngero — ‘Oath of Violence or Crime’. Muma wa

Uiguano

initiated into the

Mumbi—The Kikuyu

—The ‘Oath of Unity’, by which members were underground movement.

traditionally

acknowledged female founder of the

tribe.

Mumo—A

junior warrior in

the

traditional

Kikuyu age-grade

system.

Mundo mugo wa

ita

—A war magician who

utilized his art to bless

and cleanse warriors and to determine the propitious time and place for raids. Used in the forest to refer to religious practitioners and seers.

Munyeni

—An

elder’s headdress, like

Munyu mweru

— ‘White

salts’;

a beret.

a place where animals

came

to lick

the natural salt earths.

Muriega

—

‘Hello’.

— Spokesman of a kiama who was chosen from among

Muthamaki

the council

any

members and, being

talks or negotiations

siders’

responsible to them, carried out

which might be necessary with

‘out-

or foreigners.

Muthamaki wa

bururi

— ‘Leader of the Countryside’; a prominent

political figure.

Muthamaki wa

cira

—‘Leader

in

Law’.

GLOSSARY Muthamaki wa

ita

—A ‘Leader

in War’.

—

Muthegi A black honorary walking from the mungirima tree.

Muthuu

—A

501

stick,

used by elders and

made

1942 in which the dancers referred to themselves as Germans or Japanese and proclaimed

youth dance invented

in

their will to fight.

Mwaki

—A

‘neighborhood’ or ‘fire-linked unit’ within which

from the included

bers

villages could call

assistance in domestic tasks

and

upon one another

—

Uingereza, Mwafrica Apate

Uhuru

—

the

A

suggested source of the term

Kikuyu

battle.

Literally, ‘Let

the European return to England so that the African

freedom’.

for

situations of need.

Mwembaiguri A creeping plant considered lucky by and used by mundo mugo in preparing warriors for

Mzungu Arudi

mem-

may

get

‘Mau Mau’ which

its

initials spell.

Mzungu wa Njama

—

‘Njama the European’,

Literally,

in Swahili.

English to refer degradingly to Karari who, because he spoke English, was considered

Used by a Boer

settler

who

spoke

little

a ‘Black European’.

Mzuri

— ‘Good’,

Nakombora

in Swahili.

— Literally,

‘the destroyer’; a forest

—A small gourd, half the

Ndahi

— In

Ndemi

size of

Ituma Ndemi Army;

term for Bren gun.

a glass.

literally ‘arrowhead’, refers to

an

of metalearly generation-set believed to have invented the art

working and made the

—

Ndio, Abandi

‘Yes, Sir.’

Nduma— ‘Arrowroot’.

first

A

metal-tipped spears.

Swahili expression.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

502 Ngai

—The Kikuyu term for ‘God’.

Ngarango Ngata

—Fried

fat crisps.

—The bone which connects the head and the spinal column and contains seven

of the goat

holes.

It

played an important

part in the ‘Oath of Unity’ ritual.

Nguthiru

Ngutu

—The

moorlands of Nyandarua or the Aberdare Forest.

—A traditional club

Ngworu

for uninitiated boys.

—The stomach contents of a goat, employed

in purification

ceremonies.

mukuha na mbari

Nindakwirire utige kunora

cieri,

ugagutheca

—

Kikuyu needle at both ends, for it will surely meaning that the Europeans should not give the

‘Don’t sharpen the prick you’,

Kikuyu education, position in

as

it

might endanger the formers privileged

Kenya.

—A traditional Kikuyu council court of law. Njama ya aanake a mumo — ‘The Council of Junior Warriors’. Njama ya — ‘War Council’. Njama

sitting as

ita

Njamba

cia ita

— One of the forest terms for ‘warriors’.

—

Nyagikonyo Literally, ‘the bearer of a protruding navel’ term for the Lincoln heavy bomber.

—Gourds for storing Nyomu Nditu — Nyanja

Literally,

;

a forest

beer.

‘the

heavy animal’; a

forest

term for

‘Mau Mau’.

—

Panga A long, curved by the Europeans.

knife,

sharpened on one side; introduced

GLOSSARY Riigi

—

the traditional doors

Literally,

503

made

of interwoven thin

sticks or reeds.

Riika

—Named

age- or generation-sets in the traditional

Kikuyu

social system.

Rugongo

—A

‘Ridge’ generally comprised of several

mwaki and

covering an expanse of land lying between two rivers and extending some 25 to 30 miles.

Sauti ya Mwafrica

— The

originally the official paper of the

Shamba

— ‘Garden’, or

a Swahili newspaper,

Voice,

African

Kenya African Union (KAU).

‘acre’ in Swahili.

—The double-edged traditional Kikuyu sword. Thaai— ‘Peace’; a means of signing a

Simi

letter.

— Meaning ‘We praise Thee, oh Lord’,

Thaai, thathaiya Ngai thai

or ‘God’s peace be with us’; used to end certain Kikuyu prayers.

Thabu

—A poisonous stinging plant

leaf of the nettle family

which

causes great pain and swelling; employed as a device to torture and extract information from Mau Mau detainees and suspects.

—A traditional Kikuyu headdress. Tie-ties—African white collar workers;

Thumbi

Europeanized Africans

who were

lutionary struggle for land

pejorative

term

for

least likely to assist in the revo-

and freedom.

—

Timamu Abandi The meaning complete,

a

of

‘finished,

fulfilled,

done, or

Sir.’

—A wild edible vegetable. Townwatch Battalions—The

Togotia

The

term for all those who carried on their normal jobs

forest

fought in the towns, most of whom during the day and fought at night.

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

504 Ucio uri ho!

Uhuru

—‘That

—‘Freedom’

true’.

is

in Swahili.

—

Uiguano wa Muingi Literally, ‘The unity of the community’; an expression used by members for the underground movement.

—The traditional term for highest rank of senior Uma Uma— ‘Out, Out’; suggested by some the source Ukuri

elder.

as

from

which ‘Mau Mau’ was derived, with the intended meaning that the Europeans should leave Kenya. The change for Uma Uma to Mau Mau is thought to have been arrived at via a children’s

game

similar to our Pig-Latin.

Utuku wa Hiu Ndaihu

—‘The Night

Wamana—The nickname literally

Wanyua

means

—A

Wanyua wakine

mode

—Greetings

same generation,

age.

Long

Swords’.

for Karari’s father,

‘of forty’ in

respectful

of

Njama

Karari,

it

Kikuyu. of address

meaning

‘Father’.

exchanged between persons of the

.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

507

Middleton, John. The Kikuyu and Kamba of Kenya* International African Institute, London, 1953. montagu, Slater. The Trial of Jomo Kenyatta. Seeker & Warburg, London, 1955. Parker, Mary. Political and Social Aspects of the Development of

Municipal Government in Kenya with Special Reference to Nairobi* Unpublished manuscript Makerere University College, :

1948.

Roberts, G. The

Mau Mau

Kenya. Hutchinson, London, 1954. ross, M. Kenya from Within* Allen & Unwin, London, 1927. UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS White Paper of Indians in Kenya Cmd. 1922. 1923 in

,

!93°

Native Policy,

1933 1956

Report of the

Cmd. 3573. Kenya Land Commission, Cmd.

4556.

East African Royal Commission, 1953-5, Report, *

Cmd.

9475

welbourn, 196 1

F.

B. East Africa Rebels.

SCM

Press Ltd., London,

.

worsley, Peter. The Trumpet Shall Sound. MacGibbon London, 1957.

&

Kee,

INDEX Abaluhya

Association, 28

Abdullah, General (Gitonga Muthui), 312, 314, 363, 447 Aberdare forest, 144-6 guerrilla forces, 170, 375, 376 (see also Forest groups)

Independent Church, 38

African

Pentecostal

1

12,

1

13

gation, report, 330 Colour Bar, 29

,

Baring, Sir Evelyn, 350

Bombing of the forest areas, by Harvard bombers, 190,

84 Delamere, Lord, 32, 109 Detention camps,

28

203,

308-10,

408-10

East African Association (EEA), 36, 37 East African Census (1948), 24 East African Trades Union Congress,

Boran Tribe, 23

Commonwealth Parliamen-

British East Africa, formation of, 23

Brockway, Fenner, 129, 357, 363 Buffs and Devons, the 39th Brigade, 212

Committee

(CPC), 62, 63, 125, 171 China, General (Waruhui

Embu

40

Tribe, 23, 43

withdrawal into

tary Delegation, 368

Province

P., 82,

Aberdare forest, 204, 206, 215, 216, 220 Domestic and Hotel Workers Union,

Beecher, Rev., 77 Beecher Report, 77-8, 112, 122 Blundell, Michael, 420, 421

1,

M.

fighting in the

Batuni Oath see Warrior Oath

267 by Lincoln bombers, 21

Danile,

reported torture, 209 Devons, the

23, 24, 30, 31

i7o> 2 55> 258,

hi,

Convention of Associations, 25 Crown Lands Ordinance (1915), 33, 36 350

educated, 28-9 poverty of, 27 Alliance High School, 88, 96, 97, 99 Apartheid, 25

Central

Education

(District

Colonial Office Parliamentary Dele-

Africans, the, 29

British

Mr.

Collier,

Officer),

African Legislative Council, 39 African Orthodox Church, 38

Baluhya Tribe,

negotiate surrender, 349 Christianity, 38, 100, 10 1, 201 Chuka Tribe, 43 tries to

340

149-53

Erskine, General, 21 1, 306, 350, 440 Ethiopia, 23, 39, 359

European population, 24 Forest groups, 153-6, 158, 170, 213, 301, 375-6

open

Itote),

forest, 71,

between leaders, 455 Forest Reserve, 33, 80 rift

Mr. E. C. (Principle of Alliance High School), 99

Francis,

capture, 330

508

1

1

INDEX General

Strikes,

Kenya (1922), 37 Nairobi general strike (1950), 40, 65 Gicuki Wacira, 116, 216, 217, 219, in

first

229, 39 L 434> 4 g 2 Gikuyu and Mumbi Secret Society, 1

Kenya African Rifles, 212 Kenya African Union (KAU), aims, 39-40 change of name, 39 rally at

Hale, Leslie, 129 Henderson, Ian

329 107, 109

Branch

(Special

477 Heyman, General, 459, 473 Hinde, General, 306 Home Guard, 129, 139, 154, 345 Hut and Poll Tax, 36, 37 General Kahiu- see KahiuItina, General

Itina,

Ituma Ndemi Army, 158 Ituma Ndemi Trinity Council, 169-70, 212, 333-4

election of Prime Minister, last session,

442-54

489

Kenya Police Reserve (KPR), 283 Kenya Regiment, 70, 212, 215 Aberdare forest,

fighting in

2

1

5-2

Kenya Tribal Police, 335 Kenya Young Stars Association, 3 0I » 3° 8

arrested,

Kiambu Kiambu

Kahiu-Itina, General, 163, 233, 236, 237, 238, 296, 297, 298, 299, 327> 399 Kalenjin Tribe, 23 Kali, General Gitan, 270

127

297-8 District Committee, 270,

District, 33,

271, 272

Kigumo Camp, 57 ~8 camp rules, 164-6 i

>

160-8

Kikuyu Association, 36 Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), 37,55 u

Kamba March (1938), 39 Kamba Tribe, 23, 24, 30, 31

.

.

t.

influence in independent church-

Karari’s Hill, 73, 74, 85, 284 Kariaini Headquarters, 140,

school movement, 39 169,

172^97 183, 203

declared illegal, 39 activity within KAU, 41—2

an underground movement, 55 expansion through ‘cells’, 61—3 Kikuyu Independent Schools Association (KISA), 38, 77, 89, 103, as

overrun, 212

Taxpayers’

Welfare

Association, 37

29

of, 24,

African Preliminary

ination

350 second session, 356-60 annual general meeting, 416-25

KAU

Kagere School, 90

Kenya

first session,

Kenyatta, Jomo, 40, 50, 121, 298, 3°7> 438 rally (1952), 73-80 at

Major Owen, 384 on his home, 384-6

Kenya, government

Kenya Legislative Council, 24 Kenya National Farmers Union, 25 Kenya Parliament, 329, 375, 376 members elected, 339

158,

JeofFreys,

Kavirondo

Council, 225-6, 269,

superseded by Kenya Parliament,

102

Officer), 460, 461,

bombing,

Nyeri showground, 73-80

Kenya Defence

302, 303, 304

Humphrey,

Giriama Tribe, 30 Gitegenye, Karuu,

raid

28,

4°, 41, 63

15, 116

Gilbert, Sir

509

(KAPE), hi,

1

1

Exam12,

136

04,

1 1

Kikuyu Karing’a Educational Association

(KKEA), 37

MAU MAU FROM W

10

Kikuyu Karing’a Education Society (KKES), 78 Kikuyu squatters, 34, 70 Kikuyu Tribe, 23, 24, 30, 31 of land, 33-4 development of politics, 34-5 independent school movements, 38 loss

tribal groupings,

village councils,

43 44-5

Tribe, 23, 24, 30, 31 Lyttelton, Oliver, 331, 358, 418

Macharia, Kahure, 109-10 Masai Tribe, 23, 33 Mathenge, Stanley, 123, 129, 130, 141, 150, 161

leaves structure,

political

breakdown of political system, 50 withdrawal into the

forest,

71,

149-53 Kimathi, Dedan, 129, 142, 150, 168, 170, 304 head of Kenya Defence as Council, 225 at Mwathe Camp, 235-66

New

Luo

at Kariaini, 183-97

48-9

at

HIN

to head Ituma Ndemi Army, 158

45-8

traditional

T

chosen

ideology, 35

leadership,

I

Year’s

Eve

meeting,

322-6 elected President of Kenya Parlia-

ment, 339 at trial of his brother,

379-80

made Prime

Minister of Kenya Parliament, 427, 442-54

captured, 489 Kimbo, General, 233, 276-8, 374, 376, 400-2, 428

H.Q. camp, 215

meets Njama, 288-90 attends meeting of Kenya Parliament, 452-4 arrested by Kenya Parliament,

474

Mathenge Kihuni, 143, 160, Mathu, Mr. E. W., 102, 358 Mathu, Mohamed, 17 1-2

Mau Mau,

51, 66, 73, 78, 79, 120,

130

meaning of name, 53-5 beginning of the revolution, 71-2 Naivasha Raid, 137-8 Lari Raid, 137-8 other raids, 137-40 formation of armies, 245-50 surrender appeal by Government,

343-4 meetings with Government representatives,

472-4 198-202

King’ora Mutungi, 313, 316, 317, 319 King’s African Rifles (KAR’s), 70,

Mau Mau ideology, Mau Mau songs,

127 Kitui Friendly Society, 28

Meru

KUNA Association,

100, 101, 102

Labour Commission, 32 Labour Party (British), 40 Labour Trade Union of East

78-9,

Africa,

28 Lancashire Fusiliers, 70, 212 Land, taken from Africans, 31-4 Lari Raid, 137, 138 Leader’s Oath, 191

180-2,

346-8 Tribe, 23, 43

withdrawal into the

Koinage, Peter Mbiyu, 74, 120, 121, 129, 298, 357

161

1

forest,

71,

49-53

Mihuro meeting, 377, Mombasa, 34, 39

388, 410-25

Muchai, Karigo, 270 Mwangi, Mr. Hudson (KISA supervisor), 90 Mwarari, Githinjo, 117, 119 Mwathe Meeting, 224, 225-68 Mwiguithania (The Unifier), 37 Nairobi, 30, 34 general strike (1950), 65

2

1

1

1

1

INDEX

51

Naivasha Raid, 137-8 Naivasha Trial (1950), 51, 52, 66 Native Land Units, 25, 26 Native Reserves, 32

Othaya Raid, 177-8

Natives see Africans

Poverty, of African population, 27

Nderi, Chief, 74, 127 New Year’s Eve Ceremony,

310,

322-6 Njama, Karari, 53 at

KAU

rally in Nairobi (1952),

73~8

Mau Mau,

interested in

78-80

childhood, 82-7 education, 88-103

death of

becomes Headmaster of Gachatha Secondary School, 103 resigns as teacher, 104-5

109-10

teaching again, 1 1 takes Oath of Unity,

1

7-2

1

takes Warrior Oath, 130-3 leaves for the

Aberdare

forest,

143

arrival at Kigumo Camp, 160-1 life at Kigumo Camp, 162-8 at Kariaini, 172-97

sects,

25-6

Royal Engineers, 2 1 Royal Land Commission (1953), 418 Royal Northumberland and Inni212 Ruhuruini Memorial Hall prayer meeting, 381 skilling Fusiliers, 127,

Samburu

Tribe, 23

Somalia, 23 Somali Tribe, 23 South Africa see Union of South Africa Southern Rhodesia, 25, 42 Starehe African Social Club, 28 State of

Emergency

(1952), 63, 70,

125 official

end (Jan. i960), 494

Sudan, 23

takes Leader’s Oath, 191 at

Religious

93-4

his father,

in business,

Wing, 238, 307 Population, of Kenya, 23-31

Police Air

Mwathe camp, 232-68

meets Mathenge again, 287-90 visits Kimathi, 305-12 elected Chief Secretary of Kenya Parliament, 339 promotion, 361

Mathenge’s camp, 394-7 experiences bombing, 408-10 at Mihuro meeting, 410-25 elected Minister of War, 480

stays at

Tanganyika, 23 Taxation, 32-3 Teita Hills Association, 37 Teita Tribe, 31 Thuku, Harry, 36, 120 arrested, 37

Thukus Brotherhood Fund, 28 Trade Union movement, 39 Turkana Tribe, 23

wounded, 485

Uganda, 23

captured, 487

Nyaguthii, Junius (wife of Karari), 1 12-3, 136-7 Nyama, General, 1 61, 167, 188, 193

Oath of Unity, 55-61

>

66,

Odendaal,

107—9

Ohanga,

472

J. B., 96, B. A., 358,

1

18-9

Association, 37

Unifier, the, see

Mwiguithania

Union of South

Africa, 25, 71, 72

United Nations Organisation, 357, 368 Vassey, E. A., 419

Operation Anvil, 33 I_ 358 37 ^ Operation Hammer, 426 >

Ukamba Members

>

Wachanga, Kahinga, 487, 489, 491

512

MAU MAU FROM WITHIN

Wahome, David,

130, 133, 134

Waruhiu, Senior Chief

Women,

in the forest

camps, 221-2,

226-7

assassination, 67, 127

Warrior Oath, 67-9,

114,

125-6,

131-2 White Highlands, 25, 32, 33, 74 Windley, Mr (Chief Native Commissioner), 459, 461, 472

Young Kavirondo Association, 36 Young Kikuyu Association (YKA), 36 Zanzibar, 23

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African History

"What was the 'Mau-Mau' war against colonial rule in Kenya? What did it look like from the inside? Was it a bestial return to 'African atavism,' or was it a genuine struggle for independence and a better life? Why did the Kikuyu peasants and their allies fight so long and hard against such overwhelming odds? Where did they get their methods and inspiration they fed? With this unique and remarkable book, Njama ar>d Barnett give us valiant help in answering such questions. These dramatic pages need to be read by everyone who wants to have Njama writes of the forest an intelligent opinion on the subject.

from, and

how were

.

.

.

overcome dissension, to evolve effective tactics, to keep discipline (including sexual discipline) and mete out justice, to put down breakaway gangs who had taken to banditry, and to teach men how to survive in those merciless forests. His narrative is crowded with excitement. Those who know much of Africa and those who know little will alike find it compulsive reading. Some 10,000 Africans died leaders' efforts to

fighting in those years. Here, in the harsh detail of everyday experience,

are the reasons

why." —Basil Davidson

"The autobiography of the school teacher most fascinating and rewarding. There is

Karari

Njama seemed to me

much

remarkably disciplined account to stimulate inquiry into the relations between the educated and uneducated, into the religious significance of Mau-Mau, into the characteristics of folk revolutions. The study has the additional value of contributing an entirely fresh perspective on Mau-Mau, and so

in his

adding to the growing body of African writing so necessary to balance the Western accounts of African life and protest."

—Leo Kuper "In the

Mau Mau from Within Karari Njama, a school-teacher and one few educated men to take part in the rebellion, tells his story,

of to

which an anthropologist, Donald L. Barnett, attaches some useful comments, situating the rebellion against its general background. Njama's account is a most valuable document."

—Conor

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